A Script in the Making
by hiraikoneko
Summary: In a stroke of luck, two friends find themselves reunited to the third member of their trio, Haruhi, as they begin attending Ouran. With their arrival comes a whirlwind of drama and emotions as some Hosts struggle to allow the strangers into their lives and back into Haruhi's. Will tense feelings blossom into love, or will friendships be forced to wilt away? HikaruxOC, KaoruxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is a collaboration with my lovely friend MrsAnimeNerd. Neither of us own Ouran High School Host Club, its characters or anything else, except our OC's of course! Anywho, please follow, fav, and review~!**

 **Before we start...**

"Talking"

' _Thinking_ '

 ** _Silent Conversation_**

 **Please Enjoy!**

* * *

 **-1-**

The bell rang, signalling the start of the days classes. To the two girls standing at the front of the room, it seemed that even the bells used to mark the classes was in someway better here at Ouran than what they would have heard at a public high school, or even a less expensive private school. Their first impressions of Ouran had been that everything seemed to sparkle.

Standing at the front of the room as they were, it was easy to say that their fellow students were slowly beginning to focus their attention solely on them. As more people began to stare, one of the girls took a small, hesitant step back, so she was slightly hidden behind the other girl. She was on the shorter side, but not as small as some girls their age. She had dark eyes, which were either black or a dark, dark brown, and waist-length black hair, which she had pulled into two pigtails. Rather than the yellow monstrosity her fellow female students wore, the girl wore a pair of black flats, skinny jeans and a long-sleeved, plain black shirt.

Despite the obvious discomfort the raven-haired girl felt, she appeared to be having a silent conversation with the blond beside her, her dark eyes darting from her friend to someone in the classroom. Although her face remained blank for the most part, whatever it was she was saying seemed to draw an exasperated look from the blond.

The blond was slightly taller than the first girl, with a single hip-length braid of blond hair and blue eyes. Like the shorter girl, she was also lacking the Ouran uniform and was instead dressed in ankle-high boots, jeans and a tight fitted red, black and green plaid shirt.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce two new members of our class, Ms. Skylar Takeuchi and Ms. Shiori Hirano. Girls, would you like to say anything to the class?"

The black haired girl tilted her head up slightly to the side, sending her friend a questioning glance. Receiving the look from the shorter girl, the blond spoke up.

"Um...Hi! I'm Skylar Takeuchi, and she's Shiori Hirano. We just got transferred from Ouran Public High School. Shiori and I are best friends and we've known each other for about four years. My best subject is science and my worst is history. Shiori's best is just about anything that lets her write and her worst is math," At this the shorter girl seemed to grimace and stick out her tongue, although few caught the action, "Some off our hobbies include photography and creative writing...videogames, reading, comedies and horror-movies, and our favourite kinds of music are country, rock, vocaloid music, heavymetal and symphonic rock-"

The girl paused when the door swung open to reveal a tired looking brunette.

"-Sorry I'm late, I missed the bus and had to run a few blocks..." The brown haired boy said to the teacher, before he seemed to realize he had interrupted something. He stared at the girls for a long moment.

Shiori blinked before a smile lit up her face. She knew exactly who this was, although she was very, very curious as to why their friend from middle-school was currently running around dressed in male clothing. It didn't matter though, she was just happy to see a familiar face besides Sky's. As much as she loved Sky, her face got boring seeing it everyday. ' _Maybe she could rent a new one? That's possible, right? Oh! Book idea...'_

Skylar was quick to mimic the facial expression on Shiori's face, although she shot a curious look at Haruhi's attire. The brunette sent the pair a pleading expression that the two understood easily enough. They didn't question her appearance, "Haruhi! It's been forever! We didn't know you got into Ouran-"

Throughout the room, a number of people began talking all at once, making a great deal of noise. Most of them were girls.

"You two know Haruhi?" A girl asked.

"Did you go to school together?" A second girl asked.

"What was he like in middle school?" A third squealed.

"Haruhi, you know these two?" A pair of nearly identical voices asked.

Skylar's eyes darted away from Haruhi for a quick moment, taking in the set of twins once again. She hadn't noticed them until Shiori had pointed them out. Orange hair in reversed hairstyles, golden eyes and identical faces. They were gorgeous. It was common knowledge among her close friends that Sky had...a thing for twins.

"Alright class, let's all settle down, you can all speak with Takeuchi-san and Hirano-san when class is over." The teacher's voice called out, rising over the loud chatter of the students. Eventually they died down and the girls took their seats, which, to their joy, were right in front of Haruhi's and better yet, the twins' desks.

* * *

"What was he like?" One girl asked, leaning one Skylar's desk with a look that said she was so curious she would die if she didn't find out. There was a large flock of them, all crowding around Sky and Shiori's desks. Shiori was slightly hunched, as though she was trying to make herself smaller, while Sky sat comfortably, although she did glance at Shiori with a worried expression from time to time. Shiori didn't like being around large groups of people, especially when she was crammed in the middle of it all.

"Haruhi? He's a great guy." Sky said, feeling a smirk grow on her face, "He's such a good listener, and a really great friend...you'd almost think he was one of the girls, you know?"

There was a loud thunk, and Shiori glanced back to see Haruhi's head on her desk. The twins on both sides of her gently poked her in an attempt to rouse her. The raven couldn't help but smile as she spoke in a voice so quiet most people ignored it, "Haruhi...as an honour student, I'm not sure you want to risk those brain cells of yours on headbutting desks."

Haruhi let out a tired groan, and the smile on the shy girl's face grew.

"What did he look like?" Another girl asked Sky. Most of the girls had already taken to not speaking with the other girl. Shiori was quiet and shy, and when they spoke to her, she didn't say anything, just letting Sky speak for her.

Of course, by sitting there and not having to speak, Shiori could easily feel the stares the twins were launching at the back of her head. She was sure Sky could feel it too.

"Oh he was so cute!" Sky said, still smirking as she looked towards Haruhi from the corner of her eye. The brunette 'boy' gave her a withered look. On either side of 'him', the twins kept sharing confused looks and staring at the pair of new girls. Sky thought it looked like they were trying to read them.

"He used to be so much shorter and his hair was so fluffy, and those big brown eyes of his could just make you melt! Shiori, what do you think?" Sky looked towards her friend. The other girls quieted down a little, all of them trying to hear what she had to say. Sky sent an apologetic look, _**Sorry.**_

 ** _It's fine._** Shiori replied silently before she tilted her head and said in a warm tone, "He looked a bit like a little puppy. A very fluffy puppy."

The girls all squealed at the mental image they had conjured of a young Haruhi. Sky and Shiori sent each other more looks.

 ** _A puppy?_**

 ** _It worked._**

 ** _Sadly._**

 ** _I wish they'd stop sitting on my desk._**

 ** _Yeah...the squealing is a little annoying._**

 ** _Oh, it's not that._**

 ** _Then what?_**

 ** _It smells like a perfume factory...a cheap one too. A bit like flowers and half processed whale barf._**

At this response, Sky couldn't help but crack a smile. Shiori didn't talk a lot in public, and even when she was in private, she rarely said everything she thought up, but when she did...It was a good thing only they and other close friends knew what went on in their silent conversations. Shiori could easily make a number of people angry.

* * *

Sky wasn't sure what it was that Haruhi did, but it seemed to have really boosted her popularity...with the girls that is. It was a little alarming to see so many girls squealing over the same person, especially one of the same gender.

The day had trickled past slowly. Very, very slowly. Every time there was a break between classes, or during lunch, they were pestered by more of Haruhi fangirls, or their friend had vanished along with those twins. Apparently they were the Hitachiin brothers Hikaru and Kaoru...and they had some kind of taboo love going on?

While Shiori had gotten an idea for a story from all of it, both girls were somewhat concerned for their friend. When classes were over, they both waited outside the classroom for their friend to come out. They thought it would be a good time to catch up, and maybe visit Haruhi's place while they were at it. It had been a bit since either of them had seen Ranka.

It wasn't long before Haruhi left the room, with a twin on each side. So far, they had yet to see Haruhi more than a couple feet from the set. Sky could tell Shiori had an idea about what was going on, but she didn't ask. Shiori would tell her her thoughts when she was ready. And probably when Sky had just taken a sip from some drink or another.

"Sky, Shiori, what are you two doing here? You know school's over, right?"

"Geez Haruhi, you make it sound like you don't want us around." Sky said, pouting as she placed a hand over her heart.

"H-How cruel." Shiori agreed in a tiny voice as she shifted away from her place behind Sky. The moment she had seen the twins she had hid. The pair's attention shifted to her when she spoke. The way they seemed to be judging her was almost enough to hide behind Sky once more.

"We just wanted to spend sometime with you...its been a couple months since we've had a chance to hang out."

Haruhi sighed, "I can't, I have to go to the club-"

"That's okay, " The twins suddenly said. They had yet to actually speak to the girls. Shiori couldn't help but feel that they were slightly hostile towards them, like the twins thought the girls were going to take their place...even if Shiori knew it was the other way around, "we can just take them with us."

Shiori let out a nervous squeak as one twin wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The other did the same to Skylar and suddenly they were being dragged down the hall.

While the raven haired girl tried a futile attempt to get away, even if it was to just get his arm off his shoulder, Sky was doing nothing to help the situation, and Haruhi seemed so used to what was happening that she only sighed as she followed after them.

Shiori sent Sky a look, **_Please get us out of here?_**

"Oh no." Sky said in a blank voice, her eyes shifting from where they were locked with Shiori's to focus on the twin beside her, "Please stop. Let me go."

The words were empty and emotionless. After all, she didn't really want to go anywhere. She was quite content to walk with the twin, who's arm was still resting on her shoulders. He probably didn't even need to move her towards their destination, since she'd follow them anyways.

 ** _Really? Traitor._** Shiori sent Sky a scathing look. She then glanced over her shoulder to look at Haruhi, **_Help me?_**

Haruhi sent a look at the back of Sky's head that could have only meant **_Seriously?_** But since Sky did not have eyes in the back of her head, she remained oblivious to the look. Haruhi sighed before walking alongside Shiori.

"Kaoru, you don't have to drag her along...she and Sky are practically joined at the hip."

The twin's, Kaoru's, grip tightened and he leaned in a little to rub his cheek on Shiori's head, "But Haruhi, I don't want to let her go...she's so cute when she's flustered."

Because he was looking at Haruhi, the twin failed to notice the furious expression the quiet girl aimed at him. Haruhi caught it and she sighed, knowing what was running through Shiori's mind.

A few moments later, they stopped in front of a door with a sign that read: Third Music Room. _'A music room? Did Haruhi learn to plan an instrument?'_ Shiori asked herself. Haruhi opened the doors and the twins continued to drag the girls in.

"There you are!" Shiori flinched violently at the loud voice, which belonged to a blond boy who was running towards Haruhi with open arms. She side stepped him, but it did nothing to stop his enthusiasm, "Daddy was worried those devils were trying to kidnap- Oh, who are these two beautiful flowers?"

And then he was right in front of them, staring that the girls inquisitively. Shiori would have made a run for Skylar if it weren't for the grip Kaoru had on her. And he was still rubbing his cheek on her head.

"They're Haruhi's friends from middle school." The twins said, pushing Shiori and Sky forwards and towards the other boy.

He was ridiculously beautiful. It really wasn't fair at all. He had blond hair and violet eyes that seemed to sparkle.

The pretty blond boy suddenly scooped up Shiori, making the raven haired girl squeak once again. ' _What is with these people and the touching?!'_ He twirled her around, a massive smile on his face.

"My sweet Haruhi has friends that she never told Daddy about?! Do you know what this means? It means Haruhi can finally start acting like a real girl! She can go shopping with her girlfriends, and gossip, and they'll throw slumber parties and-"

At this point Shiori had already sent a panicked look towards Sky, and the blond had stepped forward to rescue her shy friend. Sky also noticed the annoyance hidden under the panic, and the way Shiori's hands were forming fists.

 ** _Should I handle it or...?_**

 ** _Help._**

Sky nodded and grabbed for her friend. For a moment the pair of blonds seemed to be trying to rip poor Shiori in half, until Sky wrapped her arms around the other girl and knocked Tamaki's feet out from under him. He hit the ground with an audible thud and laid there for a long moment, not moving, although everyone knew he was fine.

"She tripped me." Tamaki couldn't seem to understand why the blond girl had done that to him. He hadn't meant any harm. He was simply excited his darling Haruhi had friends. Of course, now that he thought about it...perhaps they were the reason Haruhi acted like she did? The blond was clearly violent, and violence was boyish...and the dark haired girl was a master at blank expressions...

After a moment, Hiraku and Kaoru began to laugh as the walked up to the fallen 'King'. One twin prodded him with a foot.

Now free, Shiori moved so she was hiding behind Haruhi, who stood a little off to the side. Maybe if she was with her, no one would notice her. Skylar naturally followed after her and the three girls watched the scene before them.

One twin noticed them moving and narrowed his eyes for a brief second before turning to the blond on the floor, "Hey Tamaki...these two have know Haruhi since middle school..."

The other twin met his brother's eye and nodded before joining in, "Now that they go here...they might just steal Haruhi from us..."

"She'll only ever hang out with you during host hours...the rest of the time..."

"She'll be with them." With that they both pointed at the trio. Shiori gave them a dead stare and Skylar smirked, while Haruhi could only look from Shiori and Sky to the boys and back again.

Tamaki seemed to get lost in his thoughts, muttering to himself, "They've poisoned her with their evil ways...making my sweet little girl so unfeminine and deadpan...They'll never let me see her again...what if they trap her away...I'll save you my sweet princes..."

He suddenly leapt to his feet, twirling so he was facing his 'beloved daughter' and taking off to wrap her in his loving arms, "DON'T WORRY HARUHI! DADDY WILL SAVE YOU FROM THOSE EVIL SHE-DEM-"

He slammed to a sudden stop as his face collided with and outstretched hand, the palm facing out.

"I don't understand your specific type of crazy, but I do admire your total commitment to it." Skylar said, as the boy, Tamaki, collapsed and then crawl into a dark corner where he continued to mutter to himself.

The twins shared a look before turning to stare at Sky where she stood in front of Haruhi, effectively blocking him from the brunette. Her arms were folded over her chest and she was staring at the club's 'king' with a raised eyebrow. Then, their eyes shifted to the second new girl who now stood beside her friend wearing a deadpan expression that nearly mirrored the one Haruhi frequently wore.

With an idea formed in their minds, they moved towards the blond girl, "Now we see where Haruhi gets it..."

"Although I've never seen anyone send Tamaki into the corner that quickly." One twin continued.

"Congratulations." The other said.

They both leaned a little closer to her, "We think we like you."

Sky couldn't stop the dusting of pink that rose to her cheeks, but that didn't stop her natural confidence, "Well, why wouldn't you? I'm awesome."

The twin shared another look. Hikaru wanted to roll his eyes. As if they'd like her just for that. Anyone could send Tamaki into the corner. She wasn't anything special.

Haruhi laughed quietly as she walked to stand beside her friends, remembering how frequently Sky used to make that declaration in middle school. Shiori nearly laughed as well, all the while sending her friend a sly grin.

The twins blinked at the sudden expression on the raven-haired girl's face.

 ** _Aw...is little Skylar blushing? Does she have something to tell Shiori-chan about a certain pair of boys in the room already?_**

Skylar glared at her friend, **_Shut up! You know I have a thing for twins and these two are unbelievably hot!_**

The twins had to admit they were a bit curious as to what was going on between the two. The twins had had a number of silent conversations of their own...but it was strange seeing someone else do it.

The shorter girl only smirked, **_Look at you, getting all defensive...soooo cuuuute!_**

 ** _Shut up and just let me enjoy this._ ** Sky sent Shiori a defeated look.

Shiori waved her hand in a dismissive manner, **_I'm not doing anything to stop you._** She paused for a moment, a sudden thoughtful look on her face, **_Although I do have to wonder...Do you think one of them belongs to Haruhi?_**

The girl in question gave Shiori a horrified look. Shiori only smiled pleasantly.

 ** _I do believe that is a 'no'. Alright, have fun. I'm not stopping you._**

With that said, Sky looked towards Haruhi with a hopeful expression, _**Haruhi? May I have your blessings?**_

Haruhi raised an eyebrow before she sighed and gave a shrug, **_I don't care...as Shiori said, have fun._**

A grin lit up Sky's face, **_Oh my god, thanks Haruhi! you're the best! I love you!_**

Haruhi only laughed and shook her head, sharing a look with Shiori who rolled her eyes.

Hikaru's eyes narrowed as he noticed Haruhi's expression. She knew what they were saying...she was close enough to those two that she could do that? She could answer them back?

Sky turn to Haruhi fully, the three now finished with their silent conversation, "So Haruhi...you gonna introduce everyone?"

By everyone, she had meant more than the clearly insane blond boy and those gorgeous twins. There were three other boys in the room that seemed to have been neglected during the entire scene.

One was a small boy, who hardly looked old enough to be in middle school, let alone high school. He had blond hair and wide brown eyes. A pink stuffed bunny was clutched in his arms as he watched the scene with interest from his perch.

His perch was a monster of a boy. He tall and from the looks of it, fairly muscular. He had black hair and grey eyes. There was no doubt he was handsome...kinda fit the tall, dark and handsome bill to a T.

The last boy sat off to the side with a laptop in his hands. He had dark hair as well, but his eyes were a dark brown and were, at the moment, being nearly overpowered by the glare of light reflecting off of them.

Something about that guy bothered Sky.

"Oh, right." Haruhi said, suddenly realizing where they were, "This is Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the talle one is Takashi Morinozuka, but everyone calls him Mori-sempai, the little one is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but again, everyone calls him Honey-sempai...Kyoya Ootori is the one on the computer...and the idiot is Tamaki Suoh."

The Sky and Shiori's confusion, most of the boys turned to look at Kyoya. He adjusted his glasses and they flashed brightly in the light.

"The quiet one is Shiori Hirano. Her father, Shin Hirano, is the manager of the Destiny Island amusement park owned by the Wakahisa company and her mother is a rising actress, some of you may recognize the name Takara Hirano from a number of recent movies. She has a younger brother who is still attending a public school. Shiori has been sent to detention numerous times for a number of offenses. She earns relatively high marks in all fields but science and math...She is a novice writer and has won some small prizes in local writing competitions." Shiori slowly sidestepped behind Sky. She wasn't all that sure she liked hearing her life get told to random strangers. Especially the part about detentions. She wasn't sure how it would go with these people...after all, that flamboyant idiot had already called them She-Demons- or at least he had started to.

"The other young lady is Skylar Takeuchi. Her father, Jun Takeuchi, is the current owner of the Wakahisa company, her mother, Evelyn, is from Los Angeles, California. Her parents are divorced, although her father has recently started seeing another woman. Like Shiori, Skylar has been known to be a trouble maker. Both girls have pulled numerous pranks on fellow students and staff members of their school. She's been involved in a small number of fights. She had a passion for animals and wishes to become a veterinarian...Of course with her marks and history for trouble making, it seems unlikely she'll ever reach this goal-"

Sky felt anger bubble up at that, she wasn't sure what she would have done if Shiori hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder. Instead she snapped at the dark haired boy, "Oh, so you're an expert on my life? Hang on while I take some notes!"

Didn't this guy know anything about privacy?! Who the hell did he think he was, saying that?

Beside Sky, both Haruhi and Shiori were sporting angry expressions, but Shiori in particular looked furious. There was one thing most people learnt about Shiori early on, if they paid her any attention at all, and it was that Shiori was protective of her friends. She didn't have a lot of them, but when she made friends, they were the kind everyone involved would die for. She'd die for them, they'd die for her, and anyone that messed with them did too...or, well, not really but...they regretted it sooner or later. The point was, she was actually too angry to be shy.

"Excuse me, Ootori-san, but I believe you were incredibly rude to my friend, and I think an apology is in order." Her voice, while it was quiet, was also extremely cold.

All the hosts seemed to freeze, even the cheerful Honey-sempai, at the sound of her clear voice, which lacked her usual stutter, although Sky ad Haruhi looked surprised to hear her speak as well. As no one had been speaking, they had all heard it. To Shiori's horror, Tamaki was the first to recover.

He scooped her up once again and began twirling around, "You are so cute! Mommy, did you hear that sweet little voice?"

 _ **THIS SWEET LITTLE VOICE IS TELLING YOU TO PUT ME DOWN BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS!**_

Sky, who had been moving to grab her friend cracked a grin when she saw Shiori's reaction. Still, that didn't stop her as she stomped forward to liberate her friend. Besides, it would give her a way to vent after what that smug prick had said.

Just as she reached the spinning couple, she was suddenly grabbed and hoisted up. Looking behind her to see who was picking her up, Sky realized it was Mori-sempai. The tall boy gave her a stern look from behind his usual stoic expression. If she hadn't spent so much time with Shiori, she probably would have missed it. He shook his head at her.

Sky felt somewhat ashamed of herself, and was glad he had put a stop to it. She had been in a bad mood and probably would have done something regrettable to the blond boy, who although he was annoying and clearly scaring her friend, didn't deserve what she had been planning to do.

Mori shifted her so he was only using one arm before he reached out and plucked Shiori from the tight grasp of Tamaki. The raven haired girl willingly clung onto the towering boy, shooting a venomous look towards Tamaki. If looks could kill.

Sky felt a mischievous grin come up as she looked at Mori. She wondered if she could get him to react. "Thanks for saving Shiori, Handsome."

Much to her disappointment, the tall boy only nodded. She had been hoping to get a blush or something.

When Mori set them down, the pair moved to stand by Haruhi, Shiori hiding behind her and scowling out at the blond. To her amusement, the violet eyed madman was being scolded by the little blond boy, who was, apparently, Haruhi's sempai...their sempai...how old was he, really?

"Tama-chan! You can't go grabbing Shiori-chan like that. She doesn't like being picked up by strangers. Picking her up is like picking up Takashi, you just don't do it." Honey-sempai said from his spot on Takashi's shoulder, which he had just reclaimed. The little blond had seen just how grumpy Shiori got when Tamaki picked her up.

While Tamaki was being scolded, Haruhi focused her attention on Kyoya, "Sempai, I don't think it's right for you to be talking about Sky's personal life without her permission."

Before Kyoya could respond, Sky decided it was time to change the conversation, "So Haruhi, what exactly is this club?"

"Oh...it's a Host Club..." Haruhi suddenly looked really embarrassed.

 ** _A Host Club? What do you do?_** Shiori asked her friend, but from the sly grin and the glint in the raven's eyes, Haruhi could tell she already knew. Sill, she thought it would be best if she answered.

"We...uh...flirt with girls. Each of us has a specific 'Type' that the girls like, so they come to visit us after school for a couple hours. Tamaki-sempai is the 'Princely Type', Honey-sempai is he 'Boy Lolita Type', Mori-sempai is the 'Wild Type', the twins are the 'Little Devil Type', Kyoya-sempai is the 'Cool Type' and I'm...the 'Natural Type'..."

"So, if you're all flirting with girls, why are you here, Haruhi?" Sky asked, "Does it have anything to do with you wearing the guys' uniform?"

A mortified expression came across her face before she mumbled her reply, "I owe 8 million yen."

Sky and Shiori reacted instantly, both using a mirrored expression of shock and disbelief. They spoke at the same time.

"What the hell did you do, Haruhi!?" Sky demanded.

"Which drug lord did you try to rip off?" Shiori's question was much quieter, but it easily diffused the situation between the three as Haruhi laughed quietly.

"I knocked over a vase, and to pay off the dept, I have to dress as a male and host enough guests to make up for it in profits."

"To think you'd be such a hit with the ladies..." Sky said with a sigh, like she expected so much more from Haruhi.

"Speaking of a hit with the ladies-"

 ** _Oh dear Lord it's come back to life._** Shiori seemed to hiss, her eyes narrowed and glaring at the blond who came bounding over to them.

"I must insist you ladies stay during today's hours! I want to know exactly what type of man you princesses are interested in."

Sky found herself raising an eyebrow, "Our...type of...man?"

From the corner of her eye she noticed Haruhi and Shiori sharing a look.

 ** _Well...her type is here..._**

 ** _They are..._**

 ** _Shiori! Haruhi! Stop it!_** Sky sent them an irritated look, which only made the girls smile at her in an overly-innocent way.

"Yes! I want to know exactly what kind of man makes your hearts swoon, my Princesses. I want to make any friend of Haruhi's happy!"

"Listen, my weaknesses have always been food and men, in that order."

Shiori gave a firm nod, like it was some great, regrettable truth. Haruhi seemed to react the same.

"It's true...food is much more important than boys."

The more reactant members of the host club stared at the trio with something akin to horror. Even the stoic Mori-sempai stared at them in what they believed might have been shock.

Haruhi wasn't sure why they found it so surprising, after all, they had bribed her with food on many occasions, so why were they so shocked that the three of them had said it? She could only shake her head.

"S-Surely you do not mean that, my dear Princesses!" Tamaki begged, tears welling up in those dazzling violet eyes.

"Another thing...why do you keep calling us Princesses?" Skylar couldn't help but ask, all the while failing to answer his plead.

"What else would you call a beautiful maiden who lives the life of a fairy tale?" The 'Princely Type' asked.

At that, the three girls shared a look. Shiori's shoulders shook with barely controlled, silent laughter.

"Life is not a fairy tale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you're drunk."

Shiori snickered out loud at that, before communicating with her friends silently, **_You know...a part of me bets this nut sees fairies all the time._**

"No tact what so ever." A voice sighed, drawing the girls' attention towards the owner of the voice, Kyoya, "Honestly Miss Takeuchi, even you should know when to stop."

Sky rolled her eyes, "Well Satan, tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic."

Shiori nodded her head once again in agreement.

Haruhi sighed. This wasn't really the way she had hoped. Sky hated Kyoya and she seemed to dislike Tamaki, Shiori thought Tamaki was insane and Haruhi could tell she was somewhat scared of him too, and throughout the entire conversation, the twins kept sending each other these looks and glaring at her old friends.

"C'mon guys...stop being so mean to each other. They just aren't used to you yet..." As she spoke, Haruhi realizedd she didn't even know who she was talking to. She supposed it didn't matter because it was all the same really...the Hosts weren't used to Sky and Shiori, and the girls weren't used to the Club either...this would be messy, wouldn't it?

The twins crossed their arms and frowned at the girls with matching looks of dislike. Who did they think they were, just barging in like they owned the place and taking Haruhi from them?

"We don't see why they need to be around the club all the time." They said in unison, their jealousy beginning to shine through. Part of Sky felt a little hurt. She had thought they liked her. Shiori narrowed her eyes at them, knowing exactly what was going through her blond friend's mind.

"Why did I think you'd be happy to see more people like you?" Haruhi groaned, more to herself than them.

Sky smirked as she walked up to the two. ' _They don't like us? Well, too bad for them.'_ She unfolded their arms and wrapped herself up in the limbs, ignoring the confused and annoyed looks on their identical faces for a moment before turning to look at Haruhi, "You can never have too much of a good thing..."

 ** _Funny,_** Shiori drawled, a smirk crossing her face, **_They say the same thing about sweets, but the last time I checked, cavities weren't all that pleasant._**

Haruhi laughed at the silent comment, while Sky only sent a scowl at her friend before she moved quickly away from the twins and towards Haruhi once again. It was best to move away before they could really react.

"Oh my, look at the time." Kyoya said suddenly, glancing at a clock, as though he were surprised by the time, "Hosting hours are about to begin. Unless you girls intend to pay for a session you'll have to-"

"Sempai, couldn't they stay? They're my friends and I haven't seen them in months..." Haruhi asked, placing a hand on the shoulders of the other girls. In a moment of obvious manipulation, she directed the words to Kyoya, but looked pleadingly at Tamaki.

"It would have to come out of your d-"

"OF COURSE THEY CAN!" Tamaki declared loudly, overpowering what Kyoya had begun to say.

Shiori and Sky gave Haruhi a pair of matching looks, **_We taught you so well, Haruh-chan._**

The brunette only gave them a smile that the Hosts, although they had no clue what was being said, thought was most out of character for her.

* * *

Hosting hours were...odd to say the least. Shiori had never seen so many people faint at one time, and she was sure the girls were going decibels over what should be humanly possible. The Hosts themselves weren't much better.

Their first visit was with Honey and Mori.

The girls awkwardly sat with the fangirls as Honey began cheerfully chattering about rabbits and cake.

"Me and Usa-chan love strawberry cake the most...or maybe chocolate...what type of cake do you guys like?" The little blond boy focused his attnetion on the girls, staring at them with big brown eyes.

"I-I like strawberry too, Honey-sempai!" one girl all but squealed. The other two fangirls nodded.

Shiori looked to Sky.

"Well...I like cherry chip cakes and Shiori would fight someone for just about any kind of cheesecake, especially chocolate or blueberry cheesecake."

Shiori gave a shy smile at that, "I-I wouldn't say I'd fight for cake..."

"You so would." Sky said, smirking at the quiet girl

She sighed and pouted faintly, "You're right..."

"Of course I am."

"Sky-chan, what's cherry chip? I've never had that kind before..."

The blond gave him a look of horror, "What's cherry chip? It's a delicious piece of heaven!"

Honey stared at her with wide brown eyes, although he also looked a bit disappointed. Honey wanted to try it...it sounded really yummy. He wondered if Usa-chan wanted some too...

Sky noticed his expression, "I guess I'll just have to make it for you some time..."

She was then nearly tackled by a very happy Honey-sempai, only for Mori to gently pluck him from the air. this didn't even make the boy pause though, "Thank you thank you thank you! Me and Usa-chan wanna have cherry chip cake really soon, right Usa-chan?"

The girls at the table all giggled, although some sent Sky annoyed looks, hidden behind smiles.

"Takashi likes strawberry cake, right Takashi?"

Sky leaned forward slightly, expectantly waiting to hear the tall boy's voice, only for him to nod slightly and give a "Hm."

 ** _What's the matter?_** Shiori asked, tilting her head.

 ** _I want to hear Mori talk._**

 ** _Oh. Why?_**

 ** _Because I wanna know what he's like._**

 ** _Why?_**

 ** _Because I got you to talk and look what you ended up being like?_**

 ** _Oh...so you wanna know if he's as amazing as I am?_**

 ** _Sure..._**

 ** _Hey!_**

Sky smirked at Shiori, who pointedly looked away from her and focused her attention on Honey and Mori. Shiori squeaked and stared at her hand, where a plate seemed to have appeared. On the plate sat a piece of blueberry cheesecake. She looked up and saw Honey staring at her with a happy expression.

She gave a quick, shy smile before picking up the fork and taking a bite of the cheesecake.

Honey looked at Sky next and pouted, "We don't have any cherry chip cake...is there another kind you like?"

"Marble...or vanilla?"

"I love marble cake!" Honey cheered before handing her a piece of marble cake.

"Thanks."

The Host then went on handing out cake to all his guests."Here's your cake, and your cake and yours...and here's a piece for Takashi and a piece for me and Usa-chan!"

The group ate their cake and talked, Sky and Shiori mostly focusing their attention on Mori, as Sky seemed set on making him talk. It wasn't working all that well, as Honey kept answering for them.

"Do you have any siblings?" Sky asked.

"He does! He has a little brother, Satoshi, in middle school right now!" Honey answered their question for what had to be the ninth time by now.

"W-What's he like?" Shiori asked quietly.

"Satoshi's reeeeeaaallly hyper. And fun. And he always makes sure that Chika-chan, my little brother, behaves in school."

"How long have you known Honey-sempai?"

"Takashi and I are cousins. We've known each other our entire lives!" Honey said excitedly.

 ** _I can see the resemblance._** Shiori commented sarcastically with an obvious deadpan expression.

It continued on like this for a good few minutes, but each time Honey responded in place of his cousin. Sky found herself wondering if anyone ever had this problem with her and Shiori. They probably did...then again, it was probably best that they didn't hear Shiori speak. Her sense of humor and personality didn't always get along with people...then again, neither did Sky's.

* * *

After the cake was eaten, and the fangirls squealed some more, Shiori and Sky decided it was time to move on to the next host...Tamaki. They were making their way across the room when two pairs of arms shot out and grabbed them as they were walking past another couch.

Shiori blinked when she suddenly found herself sitting on a couch with a large group of girls. She hadn't been paying all that much attention to the world around her, bu she could have sworn they were going to Tamaki's couch and not the twins'. Had she been so deep in thought about her stories that she skipped over Tamaki's visit completely? Beside her, Sky's blue eyes narrowed at the pair of dopplegangers in front of them, before her eyes widened when she saw the scene before them.

Kaoru was wrapped lovingly in Hikaru's arms as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, their faces slowly moving closer and closer together until their lips were practically brushing.

"Hikaru..."

"Kaoru..."

Around them the fangirls descended into a big heap of screaming female hormones. By this point Shiori was looking pointedly away from them and staring at a very interesting scuff mark on the floor and Sky had her eyes focused on the ceiling, as though she was asking the world why she was seeing this.

In front of them, the twins hid their frowns as their eyes darted towards the pair of girls ignoring their act. They needed to up their act if they wanted their plan to work.

"Hikaru, why are you staring at her?" Kaoru asked, looking up at his brother with a wounded expression. Hikaru looked away from Shiori and frowned at his brother. The fangirls paused to glance at Shiori as well before looking back to the twins.

"Kaoru, I wasn't staring at her."

"You were...could it be...that you want a woman more than you want me? Is it because I can't give you what they can?" Kaoru pulled away from his twin, his eyes welling up with unshed tears

"No! Kaoru, you're perfect...I love everything about you. And if I was staring at anyone here, I'd stare at you...you're the only person worth staring at."

"Oh Hikaru..."

"Kaoru..."

And the screaming started again.

Shiori and Sky shared looks with each other, each showing how uncomfortable they were with the situation. Shiori was careful to make sure that she couldn't see any of what they were doing. Shiori was the first to find her silent words.

 ** _I...I'm not sure I even know what to think of this..._**

 ** _Um...To each their own?_**

 ** _Sky...I miss public school._**

 ** _I do too. I do too..._**

After a few more minutes of talking to each other, both girls looked away. Shiori focused all of her attention back on the scuff mark and Sky patted her pockets in search of her phone.

* * *

They were both relieved when their time with the twins was over, if only to get away from their...Brotherly Love. And the fangirls. They were baaaad.

Shiori was already spaced out by then, so it was up to Sky to stand her friend up and drag her away. She couldn't help but smirk when she realized where they were going.

"Shiori~!" Sky said in a sing-song voice, drawing her friend away from her thoughts, "Guess which Host we get to see next?"

Shiori's black eyes widened and she stared at Sky with a look of pure dread, **_You can't...please? I could sit this one out...I mean...gosh, I feel a little sick...I better go sit somewhere quiet._**

 ** _No can do._** Sky only grinned.

And then the moment Shiori had feared, and Sky had anticipated purely for Shiori's reactions, arrived. It was finally time to visit the 'King' of the Host Club.


	2. Chapter 2

**-2-**

Shiori reluctantly followed Sky, cursing the great writer in the sky for creating the creature known as Suoh Tamaki. The blond boy was caressing the face of one girl, leaning in like he wanted to kiss her, and was whispering something that was romantic enough to make the other five girls sitting with him scream, turn red and, for one girl, pass out.

 ** _Oh look. More hormones._** Shiori's face showing her complete and utter lack of enthusiasm.

Sky only smirked before leaning against the back of the coach across from the self-proclaimed 'Prince'. The raven took her place beside her friend and watched with a bored expression as the 'Prince' continued to drown the girls in bursts of cheap poetic compliments.

 ** _His poetry is crap._** The raven shook her head in what appeared to be disgust. Despite the corniness of his lines, the girls around him screamed once again, turning to piles of mushy fangirlness.

 ** _Not going to argue with you on that...But we should try to be nice to him...he is Haruhi's...friend?_**

 ** _More like a pet. But...yeah._**

It was about then that the violet eyed male discovered that the two girls had arrived at his table, "Ah, Princesses. I'm so happy that you could finally join us."

Already, Shiori could feel her eye twitching under her deadpan expression. Sky smirked, but offered a smile towards the other people at the couch. Tamaki and the girls on either side of him move to the left, creating enough room for Shiori and Sky to sit.

 ** _He called us Princesses again._** Shiori scowled, **_I still think he sees fairies._**

Sky patted her friend's head, before wincing as more girls screamed, this time coming from the twins' couch. She turned to focus one the group around them.

"Oh Tamaki, you are such a gentleman." A girl sighed, fanning her face with her hand.

"Any man would become a gentleman if it meant they could stay by your side." He grasped her fanning hand in his and stared deeply into her eyes.

"You have such a way with words," Another girl sighed.

"I only speak the truth when it comes to you ladies."

 ** _Does that mean he lies the rest of the time?_** Shiori asked her blonde friend.

 ** _I think his life goal is to be so hot and cheesy that any female in a 100 mile radius will spontaneously combust._** Sky shrugged, **_Of course, this goal is a fail, 'cause we're not going to fall for it...Poor Tamaki._**

Shiori shuddered, rubbing her arms, ** _I think I need a sweater._**

 ** _Why a sweater? To protect you from Tamaki, or from the exploding hormones?_**

 ** _Because his goal may be to be hot, but I've never felt colder. At this rate I'm more likely to flash-freeze than spontaneously combust._**

At that the pair shared a smile, before their attention was brought back to the blond boy when a guest asked him a rather interesting question.

"Tamaki...you're always so perfect...but I have to know...have you ever done something bad?"

Bad? Sky and Shiori shared a look before they both leaned in, along with the other girls.

"Bad?" Tamaki asked, before a far-away look dawned across his face. His eyes traveled up to the ceiling, "Yes...there was a time...when I was not the Prince of light like I am now...I once...forgot my homework at home, and claimed my dog ate it. But at the time...I did not even own one."

The girls made all kinds of noise of shock, disappointment and excitement, like he had done something cool and dangerous.

Shiori groaned and flopped back on the couch, **_For the love of god. These people-! Yes Tamaki! You are evil! The worst kind of person._**

The pair shared a look, before Sky cracked a grin. From her spot beside Shiori, she struck a gangster pose, crossing her arms and angling her wrists back. She nodded her head a few times, with a sneer on her face. **_I didn't choose the thug life. The thug life chose me._**

The quiet raven couldn't stop herself from giggling, even as her hands flew up to cover her face.

Like the possessed demon he was, Tamaki's head snapped towards her, along with his fangirls, all alerted by the laugh. Most of them hadn't heard her make a noise since meeting her.

Tamaki blinked, realizing he had yet to treat Haruhi's friends like the Princesses they were. In an instant, he was kneeling on one knee before Shiori, clasping her hands in his as he stared into her eyes.

"Shiori, your laughter is like audible gold to my ears, and I find myself willingly succumbing to its gold fever."

There was a long moment of silence, and Tamaki found himself desperately searching for some kind of reaction, but there was none. It was as though she wore a blank mask. She didn't blush, she didn't stammer, stutter or speak at all, she didn't even move. She didn't even blink her dead black eyes.

He searched those eyes, looking for even the faintest flicker of emotion, but the longer he looked, the worse it became. His hair stood on end and it felt like cold, bony hands were reaching out and dragging him deeper into her light-less black eyes, until it was as though he were about to tumble into a deep, deep, bottomless pit. And then, just as he managed to tear his eyes away, a part of him swore he saw something move in them, like some creature waiting deep below to swallow his very soul.

Shuddering, he moved to the next girl. He knew his charm would work on her!

The blond boy looked into Sky's blue eyes, and reached out a hand to caress her cheek, "My Princess, you are looking lovely today."

Skylar's expression didn't change, forcing it to remain straight to stop herself from smirking, "Oh, so I was ugly yesterday?"

Tamaki's eyes widened and he struggled to recover. He hadn't meant it like that! He didn't want to insult her! "Well, no. I didn't know you yesterday, so how could I have possibly seen you?"

"Exactly. You don't know if this is me being ugly, so you should shut your mouth before you insult someone."

He quickly took a step and tried to keep a hold on his self-confidence. Kyoya would be mad if he went to his corner and couldn't see any guests...

With this in mind, he turned to the girls who he had been complimenting earlier and returned to doing just that, if only to keep him confidence present.

* * *

As Shiori and Sky got up and made their way to Haruhi's table, Tamaki couldn't help but watch them and over hear what was being said. Shiori was giggling again, sounding far too sweet and innocent for someone with such dead eyes, and Sky was speaking in between her own laughs.

"It was...so hard...to keep a straight face. Especially...when he had that...dejected looking expression!"

Shiori nodded, and he could just catch her reply as she actually began to speak, "It was sort of cute...Like a puppy."

"What's up with you and puppies today?"

"It just works when describing a guy? It would be awkward if I called them 'Kitten'."

"Yeah. That's true."

"Of course it is."

After this was said, they arrived at Haruhi's table and sat in the middle the couch directly across their brunette friend. Almost immediately, they were pounced on by Haruhi's fans.

His curiosity was getting the best of him, so he soon found himself leaning over the back of Haruhi's couch so he could hear what was being said. Behind him, at his couches, his clients shared confused, disappointed looks. They weren't alone, as within a few more moments, all the other hosts found themselves gathered around Haruhi's couches, all wanting to learn more about Haruhi, her friends, and what the brunette was like in middle school.

As there wasn't enough space to stand behind Haruhi's couch, two unhappy twins were stuck standing behind the raven and blonde across from their 'toy'.

* * *

"Hi! We heard you were Haruhi's close friends in middle school." One girl began. She had a bright smile as she leaned forward, like she was eager to hear all about it. Knowing fangirls, she probably was, "I'm Eri, by the way.

Sky smiled back, "Hi. I'm Sky and she's Shiori. Yeah, we've known Haruhi for about two years now."

Shiori nodded before sinking in her seat a little, to avoid the stares of the other four girls at the table.

"Akiko." A second girl said, before asking, "So, how'd you meet Haruhi?"

"Oh! Did he save you from bullies...or...or-" the third girl lurched forward in her chair in barely contained excitement.

A fourth girl reached out and pushed her friend back into her spot, "Calm down Misaki, you'll freak them out...not every moment in life is a romance novel."

"But Minori! It would be beautiful! They were separated after Middle school, only to be reunited here at Ouran! And entire summer gone by without seeing one another...they must be so happy!"

Akiko face palmed, and Shiori sunk further into her seat, casting a slightly scared look towards Sky.

 ** _Good god, I hope she isn't trying to pair one -or both- of us up with Haruhi...please tell me she isn't..._**

 ** _It's kind of amusing. But no. I don't roll that way._**

Haruhi gave both girls a look, eyes moving to look from one to the other.

Sky smiled sheepishly, **_Oh, don't worry Haruhi! You're still very HANDSOME, I just have different taste._**

 ** _Sorry. No offense Haruhi._**

Haruhi rolled her eyes and decided it was time to answer the question, even though she knew it had been aimed at Sky. A fond smile came across the trio's faces as they thought back to when they first met.

* * *

FLASHBACK

* * *

A thirteen year old Shiori sighed, staring at her blonde friend, "I can't help you. You know we'll only end up doing something stupid instead."

"But Shiori! I'm going to fail!" Sky threw her arms up in distress. Shiori's dark eyes flickered around the street as they made their way towards their school, which was quite close to their homes, to make sure no one noticed them.

"Me helping you study, won't help!" She replied, growing frustrated. It wasn't that she didn't want to help. She really did, but she had enough trouble with math class, and she knew that if they tried helping each other, they'd only end up pranking someone or breaking the law or something. Seriously.

"What do I do then? I can't remember all this history! The dates are too confusing."

"Well, you could always ask someone else for help. Like...what about Haruhi Fujioka? She's got very good marks...it's kinda ridiculous."

"Fujioka? Huh. I've never really spoken to her."

"She's kinda quiet though." Shiori said.

Sky sent her a look, "Are you one really to talk?"

"No, but I'll do it anyways." Shiori said, with a hyper giggle.

The pair made their way into the school, weaving through the crowd of students to get to their classroom. There wasn't enough time before class to speak with their classmate, so the girls waited until class had ended and lunch was about to begin. As the students around them ran for the door, eager to go and eat, Shiori and Sky moved in towards their target.

Haruhi Fujioka was usually the last to leave the room, so it was easy for the pair to find her. They just waited by the door until she began to walk out.

"Hey! Haruhi..." Sky said, trailing off awkwardly. She really didn't know what to say. How did someone ask this kind of thing? It was way easier with Shiori, but Shiori was right about them goofing off.

Haruhi paused and stared at the pair of girls. She recognized them as her classmates, but like most of them, they'd never spoken to each other. Still, Shiori and Skylar had a bit of a reputation...one up held by the daily pranks they pulled during class.

Shiori shoved Sky towards Haruhi, and the blonde sent the raven an annoyed look before she turned to Haruhi and finally got on with things.

"I've been having a lot of trouble with history, and there's a big test coming up, so I was wondering if you could help me study? Shiori would normally, but we end up goofing off more than we actually study, and I really need a good mark on this test...Please? I really, really need the help."

"It's really not that hard. And I'm busy after school every day. I have to go grocery shopping, go home and clean the house, and cook dinner for myself and my dad before he gets home. And then I need to study my own things. I'm a bit ahead of the class and I need to spend as much time as I can on studying this subject to become an attorney. So I can't help. I'm sorry."

At that, Sky let out a disappointed sigh. She was going to fail. She really was. She just couldn't remember which battle was when, or who did what. It all was just a jumbled mess of names and dates in her head that she couldn't put straight.

Shiori, on the other hand, was frustrated. She knew Haruhi had her own life, and it was rude of them to just expect her to clear her scheduled, but she was really worried about Sky's marks. She sighed.

"Sky...we'll just have to find someone else then..."

Haruhi blinked, surprised to hear the raven's voice. Not many people did. She'd even heard people putting down bets on what she'd sound like. Some people thought she sounded like a man, and that was why she never talked. Shiori just sounded...really young.

"Right...sorry for keeping you." Sky said, before the pair wondered off down the hall to find somewhere to eat lunch.

* * *

The next day, Haruhi found herself walking home from school. In her head, she was repeating the list of things she had to do in her head.

 _'Go to the supermarket, do my homework, make dinner for me and Dad (since he's home tonight), do the laundry, clean the house a little, start reading those books on law I found at the library-'_

"HEY! FUJIOKA!"

Haruhi's head snapped in the direction of the shout. She noticed four boys walking over to her. Two were laughing and they all had arrogant smirks.

"We met your Dad yesterday." One boy said, and Haruhi inwardly flinched. It wasn't because of her father, it was just that people were so closed minded. She could tell already, they were here to make fun of him, and try to make fun of her as well.

"Or should we say, your Mommy?" The second boy asked, looking thoughtful.

"Her Dammy?" The third offered, but the grin on his face told her he already thought it up. They probably scripted this.

"Her Tranny!" The fourth shouted, and they all cracked up.

Haruhi really was not amused. She spun on her heel and started walking away, ignoring the boys who followed her, jeering the entire time.

"Hey, Fujioka, are you a tranny too?"

"Yeah...I bet it's some boy trying to be a pretty girl."

 _'Yet they still think I'm pretty.'_ Haruhi thought, mentally chuckling in away that completely lacked any mirth.

As the boys continued to bother her, Haruhi found herself slowly speeding up and going down as many streets as she could, trying to throw them off, or at least bore them into leaving her alone. Still, before Haruhi knew it, she was in an unfamiliar residential area and she was becoming out of breath as she jogged, mindful that she was still in her school uniform.

The thirteen year old let out a started gasp as she tripped over a slab of uneven sidewalk and found herself tumbling to the ground, her things clattering as they fell with her. The four boys all laughed down at her as they caught up.

* * *

Shiori and Sky walked beside each other as they headed down their street.

"Did you try asking that one girl...Hikari? She might be able to help..." Shiori offered. She had tried to help Sky study the night before, but it had ended with them painting someone's fence bright pink while they were on vacation. Don't ask.

"I tried her, Suzumi, Kokoro, Sakura and Ichigo. None of them had time."

"Crap."

"Yeah."

They walked on in silence, only to stop when they both spotted someone running around and corner and down the sidewalk across the street. The runner, a girl in their school's uniform, didn't make it for long before she tripped. Sky and Shiori then noticed the four boys following her.

"Hey...is that...Haruhi?" Sky asked, even as they made their way across the street and started making a run for the group ahead of them.

Shiori nodded as they moved.

The two girls stood in front of Haruhi and stared angrily at the four boys.

"HEY! " Sky shouted at the four boys, who all stared at them, looking annoyed and amused at the same time.

Shiori could practically hear the sexist thoughts in their minds. The little bast-

"Pick on someone your own size! Or gender." Sky continued, before she smirked and cocked her head slightly. She raised a hand and pointed a thumb to her chest, "Or at least a yanki like me, if that floats your boat."

Beside her, Shiori let out a little giggle, but the noise was not a happy one. It sounded a little deranged, actually. A smirk crawled across her face.

And then she spoke, making the four boys, all members of their class, flinch, like they were expecting Satan or something. Close, but not quite. "Ah. I don't make it a habit of speaking, particularly when I'm speaking to moronic asses, but I'd like to include myself in that as well. Is that alright Sky...or would you rather...?"

"Of course you can join, Shi-chan." Sky said, grinning.

"Good." Shiori let her school bag slide off her shoulder, and it landed with a thud beside Haruhi.

"What are you talking about!?" One of the boys snapped, looking between the pair of girls. What were they even doing here anyways? Who did they think they were to interfere?! They didn't get involved in anything the girls did. Couldn't they just do the same?

"We're here, to kick your asses!" Sky exclaimed, looking very excited at the idea.

"Yeah right." One boy, Ren, Shiori thought, said as he reached out and shoved Sky back a step.

In an instant, Sky had reclaimed the step and sent a punch directly into the boy's face. Like someone had thrown a switch, the three other boys, Rikuto, Ryo and Seiichi, all moved in to join the fight. Not wanting to be left out, Shiori joined the fray.

Haruhi, still on the ground, watched the fight.

Ryo and Seiichi went after Shiori, both trying to hit her. On her part, Shiori did a good job dodging the hits. Then, Ryo over extended himself as he moved to throw another punch. Shiori saw her chance and slammed her own fist into his stomach as hard as she could. The boy doubled over and started coughing, the wing knocked out of him. Shiori paused for a moment, and it was enough time for Seiichi to smash his own hand into the quiet girl's face. She was knocked down from the force of the blow. As she fell, Seiichi moved to follow, probably so he could continue hitting her, but Shiori rolled as soon as she landed and got to her feet. One hand rested on her cheek, which was already bruising, and the other reached out to grab the boy by his hair, so she could push him down. He toppled into Ryo, who had just begun to get up.

Only a few steps away, Sky's fight was going along the same lines. Ren and Rikuto were both trying to hit her, sometimes getting in the other's way. Sky ducked a swing from Ren, making him hit Rikuto in the chest. Sky swung her backpack off one shoulder and let it slide down to the awaiting hand. She then slammed the backpack (full of history textbooks) into Ren's back. A second later, Rikuto tackled her, sending both kids to the ground. As he reared back to punch her, her leg flew up and her foot was planted squarely into his stomach, and she heaved him off of her.

Over the fighting, Haruhi could hear people yelling and she turned to see adults running down the street, probably to tear the kids apart. To Haruhi's shock, two of the adults coming their way were dressed in police uniforms. Had someone called the cops that quickly?

The two officers arrived and pulled the kids apart, placing Shiori and Sky behind them.

"What is going on here!?" One of the policemen shouted, his voice rising above the shouting kids.

"Nothing to be alarmed about...we just had an argument." Sky said, crossing her arms.

"It got a little out of hand." Shiori added, smiling pleasantly.

The second cop spun around when he heard their voices and gave an aggravated sigh, "Takeuchi-chan, Hirano-chan."

"Officer-san. It's nice to see you again." Shiori greeted in return.

The man gave her a withered look, "Is it?"

The first officer sighed, "Alright, who started this?!"

"THEY DID!" The two girls and the boys shouted, pointing at each other.

"He pushed me." Sky said, pointing at Ren, "I felt like I was in danger, I defended myself. Then, his friends attacked, and Shiori started defending herself as well. Then you showed up and separated us."

"And what about you?" The officer questioned, looming over Haruhi who had yet to get up.

The brunette stared up at him in shock. What did she say? She wasn't involved in the fight, but it washer fault the fight had broke out...kinda. Sky and Shiori were here because they saw he boys bothering her. Still, she couldn't say it washer fault...she had to though...but if she did, wouldn't it show up on her record that she was a delinquent or something? She wouldn't be able to get into that high school she wanted to go to if she had a bad record...Ouran wouldn't accept her as a scholarship student if she did...

"She wasn't involved. In fact, she was just about to call the police." Skylar said, pointing towards Haruhi's phone, which was open on the ground beside her hand. It was an old flip-phone, one she never used anyways. Her dad just wanted her to have it so he could call her and pester her more often.

"Is this true?" The officer asked her.

Haruhi stared up at him for a moment before she nodded.

"W-What? No it's not!" Ren shouted angrily, "She's the rea-"

He stopped when he noticed a pair of dark eyes focused on him. The girl tilted her head and smiled in a overly-sweet way. Ren seemed to gulp. The look in her eyes promised agony if he continued talking.

"Never mind. She wasn't involved."

The policemen sighed, casting annoyed looks towards Shiori and Sky before looking towards the group as a whole and the first policeman spoke, "We'll let you all go this time, but the next time we here anything about any of you, we will not be so lenient. Are we understood?"

"Hai!" The seven children said.

The boys scuttled off like a bunch of cockroaches, and the policemen left, leaving the trio of girls standing on the street.

"Thanks for helping me." Haruhi said as she bent down to gather her belongings, which were still scattered on the sidewalk. She looked at her phone for a moment, taking in the black screen. She pressed a couple buttons, and opened and closed it, but the device seemed unresponsive.

"No problem." Sky said, smiling brightly. She started helping Haruhi, gathering up her books.

Shiori joined them, "Besides, it wouldn't be right for us to let them get away with that."

Haruhi and Sky both turned to stare at the shy girl. Haruhi was staring because she still wasn't used to hearing Shiori speak. She had thought it was just the situation that made her talk, what with the fighting and the police (and how did those two know that police officer? He looked kinda annoyed with them...). Sky was staring because she hadn't been expecting Shiori to speak at all in front of Haruhi. It had taken Sky nearly a month to get Shiori to speak to her.

"Still...thanks. Although, I'm sort of curious...how do you two know that police officer?"

Shiori and Sky shared a look as the stood, all of Haruhi's things in their hands. Shiori let out a little giggle, and as Sky's laughter came out, the giggled morphed into full-blown laughs as well.

Haruhi stared for a moment before decided it was probably best if she didn't know.

Sky noticed the phone still gripped in Haruhi's hand, "Is it alright?"

"No...I think it broke when I fell."

"Oh no, can you get a new one or...?"

"It doesn't really matter. I don't use it a lot. My dad just likes to call from time to time to bother me."

"Oh..."

"It's fine."

"Alright, if you say so."

"It is, trust me."

Once all of the brunette's things were gathered, Shiori and Sky gave her directions back to her street. They waved to the brunette as she left before both turned towards the houses beside them and blinked.

To the left stood Shiori's house, and to the right, Sky's.

"I REALLY hope my little brother isn't home yet." Shiori said, still staring up at the house.

Sky only laughed before the pair made their way into their individual houses.

* * *

Thirteen year old Haruhi Fujioka let out a depressed sigh as she gathered up her books. The sun was already low on the horizon, and she knew she'd have to hurry if she wanted to get back from the supermarket before it got dark. The last thing she needed was more trouble.

Her thoughts flashed back to the previous day, when Skylar Takeuchi and Shiori Hirano had come to stand up for her like characters from an action anime. They had been really...cool. And nice. For a while, Haruhi wondered what it would be like to have friends like them. They'd probably get her into way too much trouble. Then again, they probably didn't want to be friends. they seemed really close, and having another person in the mix would just ruin things.

Haruhi walked out of the classroom deep in though. She was so deep in thought she didn't even notice when two people began walking on either side of her the moment she left the room.

Shiori and Sky walked before the brunette, quite aware that she hadn't noticed them. As they walked, the pair spotted the cockroaches from the previous day. The boys noticed them as well and stopped walking to stare at them, looking quite alarmed.

' _Good. They'll remember who's in charge._ ' Shiori thought to herself.

Sky beamed happily at the quartet and blew them a kiss as the trio walked by. The four boys exchanged confused and worried looks before staring after the girls again. The blood ran cold when they saw Shiori motion that she was watching them, wearing the same overly-innocent smile from the day before. With that, the cockroaches ran away. Again.

Haruhi walked a few more steps before she stopped and looked at the girl on each side of her. A frown tugged at her lips and she let out a sigh, "I get it, you guys."

Shiori and Sky exchanged confused looks. What?

"You helped me to get me in your debt. Okay, I'll help you."

The girls shared a look, before talking completely in sync, "We helped you because what they did was wrong." They both grinned, "Plus fighting is kinda fun."

They both slung an arm around Haruhi's shoulder and Sky continued speaking, "Listen, Haruhi, I'm sorry to say it, but you're our friend now."

"It's a sad truth," Shiori said with a sigh, "But you're stuck with us, so you might as well get used to us."

Haruhi looked from one girl to another, surprised to hear them so easily say she was their friend. It was nice though, that they let her in so quickly. And even if they caused trouble all the time, they were nice.

"But I will take you up on that offer to help me study."

"Oh, and maybe you could help me with math." Shiori added a moment later.

The brunette nearly groaned. Something told her she was going to spend a lot of time helping these two.

* * *

END OF FLASHBACK

* * *

Shiori and Sky laughed quietly, leaving the answering up to the brunette, just as she had known it would. Still, part of Haruhi had wanted to join in.

"Well, it all started about two years ago. Shiori, Sky and I were all in the same class." Haruhi began.

Behind her, Tamaki instantly tried to imagine what a thirteen year old Haruhi had looked like. She would have been so cuuuuute!

"Sky was having some trouble with History, and we had a big test coming up, so she needed help. Shiori would have helped her, but when the two of them are alone together, they usually end up completely sidetracked and they cause a lot of trouble..." The brunette sent a look towards the pair.

It was obviously something she had spoken to them about very often. In response to her look, Shiori and Sky nervously scratched the back of their heads, but shared sly smiles, like they weren't really sorry about it at all. Behind them, the twins unconsciously followed the movement of the girls' hands, and watched as they messed up their hair even more that it had been after the day of school. One swore he felt his eye twitch as they stared at the messy heads of hair. Could they not even try to look neat? They were even worse than Haruhi!

"So Shiori suggested that they ask me to help them. I said I couldn't help them, because I was really busy at home. I had to get groceries, clean the house, do my homework, cook dinner, and study some law books I got at the library. The next day, they asked a lot of our other classmates for help, but no one could help them."

"And then you felt sorry for them and agreed, and you bonded over studying!" Misaki said, smiling proudly like she had figured it all out.

"No..." Haruhi said slowly, shaking her head, "Um...After school the day after they asked me, I was on my way home to drop off my things and change when some of the guys from my class showed up. They started saying some things about my dad, and some stuff about me too."

The girls looked upset, and the Hosts all had varying expressions, mostly of annoyance and anger. Haruhi had been bullied in Middle School? Who messed with their friend?

"I walked away from them, but they kept following me, so I started going down random streets and alleyways to get rid of them. Eventually I got myself lost and they were still following me. I tripped over something and the guys caught up with me. Then, before any of them could start up again, Shiori ad Sky came out of nowhere and stood up for me like they were characters from an anime or something."

At this everyone turned to look towards the pair of girls, and flinched when they noticed the slightly sadistic grins on their faces, all but Haruhi, that is.

"That was a fun day." Sky said and Shiori nodded enthusiastically.

Everyone stared for a moment, but turned to Haruhi so she would continue the story.

"So, Skylar said they should pick on someone their own size, or gender, or someone like her at the very least, and then Shiori started talking and she said she tried not to speak with morons like them, but she wanted to add herself into the fight, if it was alright with Sky. Then one boy pushed Sky, and she punched him right in the face. The next thing I know, two are trying to fight Shiori and the other two are after Sky. Shiori's sending them to the ground and Sky's beating them up with a backpack..."

The Hosts all shared a look. Neither girl looked incredibly strong, but their own Honey was enough to make them pause in their judgment.

"And then the police arrived."

At that everyone froze. After all, it never sounded good when one mentioned the police getting involved in a scuffle.

"It seemed like they knew Shiori and Sky, but they still asked what was going on, and Sky said they were defending themselves, which was true, but it was all just a fight and nothing to really worry about. Then they asked me how I was involved, and Sky and Shiori told them I was just trying to call the police, but I must have gotten to close to the fight and got knocked over at some point."

"They lied to the police?" One girl cried.

The girls in questioned stiffened, each feeling a pair of hands resting on their heads, slowly working their hair out of the styles the girls had chosen for the day. Sky's hair was unbraided and fingers ran through it, working out knots and the white ribbons holding Shiori's hair in pigtails were pulled out. No one else seemed to notice the boys fixing their hair. In fact, as the girls sent looks behind them from the corner of their eyes, not even the twins seemed to notice what they were doing.

"No." Shiori said, her voice cutting into the panic, although it trembled slightly, "Haruhi was not involved in the fight. He had his phone out and had had fallen during the fight, just very early on, before the fight could become full blown. There was no real lie. For all we know, Haruhi could have been calling the police."

Sky nodded, "Yup. I'm sure Haruhi was going to phone the cops, right Haruhi?"

The brunette nodded.

"See?" Sky asked. Everyone calmed down, but they kept sending odd looks towards the new girls. They were trouble.

Behind them the hosts shared more looks. Although it was terribly improper (and scary) for two girls to get in a fight with four boys (Or get in a fight at all), the Hosts were all glad that the girls had stood up for Haruhi.

Honey and his towering cousin thought it was cool that the girls could fight, although it sounded like they weren't formally trained and were more street-brawlers than artists. "Wooow! Sky-chan and Shi-chan are so cool!" Honey said excitedly. Mori nodded.

The twins shared their own look. They were willing to admit that it was impressive that the girls could handle getting into fights. They were a little impressed. But that didn't mean they liked them. They were still trying to steal their toy, and they couldn't let that happen. Haruhi was their friend now.

At that thought they both realized what they were doing and quickly removed their hands from the girls' heads, like they'd been burnt. It had been purely out of habit after all. They'd just spent so much time working with their mother's models that it was natural to fix messy hair when it was in front of them.

Of course, the damage was already done. Sky's hair had small braids running along her temples that lead into a high ponytail, and Shiori's hair was pulled into a mermaid tail side braid, tied off with the white ribbons.

"What happened afterwards, Haruhi-kun?" One of the girls, Eri, asked.

"Well...they gave me directions home and I left to do all my chores and things. The next day, I was about to leave the school when I realized they were walking beside me. I had kinda thought the only reason they helped me was so I would end up in their debt, so when I told them I'd help them to pay it off, they wrapped their arms around my shoulders and told me that I was their friend, and I was stuck with them whether I liked it or not." Haruhi said with a shrug, "And I have been stuck with them ever since."

"We love you, Haruhi!" Sky said, grinning as Haruhi gave her a flat look.

* * *

The moment hosting hours were over, the clients left in a dejected flood of yellow creampuffs, leaving the Host club and the two girls.

"So, Shi-chan, Sky-chan, where did you learn to fight?" Honey asked the girls as they finished off a leftover cake. The pair were waiting for Haruhi to finish cleaning up and escape Tamaki's grasp as he hugged her tightly, crying something about 'long term exposure to She-Demons', what ever that meant.

"We just learned from getting in fights with other kids. People like to pick on Shiori 'cause she's so quite, and sometimes we lose our temper with them." Sky said with a shrug, "We've been fighting people for years, even before we really became friends."

"When you were fighting those bullies when you became friends with Haru-chan, did you get hurt?"

"Well...Shiori got a black eye and a pretty bad bruise on her stomach...and I got pretty scratched up after one of them tackled me." Sky said, trying to remember, "Nothing too bad."

"You've had worse?"

"Yup. Shiori once got a broken wrist, and I've gotten hurt pretty bad once or twice. That was back when we first started fighting though."

"And of course after being so badly injured you would foolishly get into more fights afterwards." Kyoya said as he walked past.

Sky's eyes narrowed and she got up, stomping after him. Before she could get too far, she was picked up by Mori for the second time that day. He held her up until she stopped trying to get away and then gently set her down beside Shiori. The raven giggled at her friend.

"Sky, Shiori, I've finished cleaning things up..."

At Haruhi's words, the angry blonde shot a look towards Kyoya, muttering something along the lines of 'Alright, you win. this time.'

As they made their way to Haruhi, Shiori couldn't help but giggle again, before she waved good bye to Mori and Honey, offering a genuine, sweet smile. Her gaze shifted to Tamaki and the smile morphed into something ominous as she gestured that she was watching him.

The trio left the room and were walking down the hall when two other people joined them. The three paused to look at the twins.

"Where are you going?" They asked.

"To Haruhi's." Sky replied.

Shiori nodded and Haruhi sighed. They didn't even ask her if they could come over. Of course, they had always been like that. After a few months hanging out with them even she had ended up like that. Any of them could just walk into the others house. It could be 1:30 in the morning and no one would question why they were there. They all knew that was true. Shiori had done it before. Of course, it had been stormy that night, so that might have made it not count...

"Why?" The twins asked, like they couldn't understand why they were visiting Haruhi's. The Hosts had to show up uninvited to even get in her apartment, how come they could just... **go** to her place?

Sky smirked, "Because Ranka wants to make Shiori cute."

The raven sent an angry look towards Sky. She liked Ranka, she really did, but the one thing she couldn't stand was when Ranka decided it was time to play Dress Up. Usually Shiori was the doll.

The twins shared a look before wrapping their arms around Shiori, "Why, don't you think she's cute enough?"

The raven haired girl froze and stared at her friends desperately.

 ** _GETTHEMOFFGETTHEMOFFGETTHEMOFF!_**

"I think she's plenty cute, but the look on her face when she's in a pink dress is..." Sky grinned evilly at her friend, "Priceless."

Shiori glared at her friend as she struggled to get free. Finally she managed to turn herself around so she was facing the pair and get her hands free. She planted a hand in each twin's face and managed to push them apart enough to free herself completely. She then attached herself to Haruhi's side, casting annoyed glances at Sky and the twins, who only grinned mischievously.

The five teens continued walking towards the exit, the girls realizing the twins wouldn't be leaving them alone.

Hikaru and Kaoru walked along, relatively quiet as Sky and Haruhi talked to each other, and Shiori silently adding in to the conversation. They took a moment to observe the friend-snatchers.

Kaoru thought his brother had gone a little overboard with Shiori's hair. It was more complex than what he'd done for Sky's, although he could admit his brother had done a good job. Shiori was fidgeting and her eyes kept moving towards them as she walked. It wasn't the usual fidgeting girls did when they saw them, and she wasn't sneaking peaks because she thought they were attractive. It was more like she was waiting for them to say or do something cruel, like say what they really thought of them. When she looked at them, it was more like she was looking over individual details, and not them as a whole, like everyone else did. She didn't even look at both of them at the same time. She looked at one twin, took in something, looked towards her friends, silently said something and then looked at something else. It was somewhat discomforting, like she was cataloging them.

Sky was the opposite. She was completely relaxed as she walked, although she kept sneaking peaks of them as well. They weren't sure if she thought they were attractive, because she wasn't obvious like most girls, but then there were these moments when it looked like she was...appreciating what she saw? Still, as they watched her...watch them...there were moments where she'd get this look in her eye like she wanted something.

There was a lull in the conversation until Sky took it upon herself to fill the silence, "So...Tamaki. Is he serious about acting like a prince?"

Beside her Shiori nodded slowly, **_I really think so._**

"Well he's pretty much already there."

Haruhi looked confused, "Why do you say that?"

Shiori sighed, but before she spoke she let her eyes dart to the twins, like she wasn't sure she should say this in front of them, "W-we mean he's dumb."

"That doesn't really make sense." The brunette said, still looking confused. Shiori looked towards Sky for the explanation. She already felt awkward enough saying little things around the twins, or any of the Hosts for that matter, and there was no way she was going to to say all that she and Sky wanted to say.

"A Prince kissed Snow White in her sleep. He sexually harassed her without permission. The same goes for Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella's Prince couldn't remember her face and used a shoe to find her. No logic. Any one could have fit the shoe. And her face never changes, so you have to wonder: how did he not recognize her in rags. And there's the Prince who 'fell in love' with the little mermaid and decided to marry a girl who saved his life after knowing her for three days and only really remembering her voice. She could have been a psycho killer for all he knew. And then there's the Prince who saved Rapunzel. He walks up to a tower, and rather than wonder how they got her in there in the first place and look for a door or have his men knock a hole in the wall, he painfully climbs up using her hair. Princes are all idiots."

The twins stared at the girls with narrowed eyes. Now, they knew Tamaki was an idiot. Who didn't? But it wasn't right that they were talking about him behind his back, and to make matter's worse, Haruhi was participating! Did she do this all the time? Where they going to talk about them as soon as they left the twins' hearing range?

"I see your point..."Haruhi said thoughtfully.

Hikaru forced out a laugh, "You're totally right, Skylar!"

"Yeah, Princes really are stupid." Kaoru said with his own fake laugh.

Black eyes narrowed as they stared at them. It was obvious they were being sarcastic. Hell, a lot about the twins was obvious, especially the fact that thy didn't like Shiori and Sky at all.

Sky sighed before speaking honestly, "You two are much better. You're not trying to be a prince. At least not completely. I don't really like your twincest act but you're still better to be around than a fake prince."

Shiori found herself unable to stop herself from speaking, even though she really didn't want to. It was just bothering her the way the twins were acting towards them, so she spoke quietly, "Y-You don't s-sugarcoat things, you v-voice your dislike."

As she spoke, the raven's eyes kept flickering away from them, and she fidgeted, her left hand twitching oddly at her side.

"You two don't lie, you use sarcasm. Like us." Sky finished, crossing her arms with a proud grin.

The girls only got narrowed eyes in response.

* * *

The three girls walked down the street, silently talking back and forth. they were only a few blocks from Haruhi's house by this point.

 ** _Ouran's weird._** Shiori said, looking troubled.

 ** _The people are weirder._** Sky disagreed.

 ** _They're rich people, what do you expect?_** Haruhi asked them, looking annoyed. It had been kinda alarming how some members (Tamaki) had reacted to her old friends. If he was so scared of Shiori, Haruhi didn't understand why he kept being so...touchy with her. Even the twins. She knew they weren't the nicest to some people, but it was a little hostile between the prankster pair from her childhood and the new pair she'd met at Ouran.

 ** _Shiori and I are rich...and even we aren't that weird, are we?_**

 ** _Well, you two became rich. They were born into it._** Haruhi said with a shrug.

Shiori looked thoughtful, ** _I see...so maybe...long term exposure to the components in money makes people go mad?_**

 ** _The future looks bleak for us then._** Sky said, shaking her head sadly.

Haruhi looked at the pair and smiled slyly, an expression she never used with the host club, **_It always has._**

"Haruhi!" Her friends shouted. In an instant Shiori and Sky were chasing Haruhi down the street, the three acting like little kids. Eventually the three stopped running, only a short distance from Haruhi's apartment.

"Haru-chan's become so cruel, ne, Sky-chan?" Shiori said in a childish voice, reminding all of them of the small blond host. All she needed was a stuffed animal. Although for Shiori, it would have to be a creepy one. otherwise it would ruin her image.

"She is." Sky said, nodding to her friend.

Still, the three laughed together as Haruhi opened her apartment door.

And then the moment Shiori had feared, and Sky had anticipated purely for Shiori's reactions, arrived. It was finally time for Dress Up with Ranka.

* * *

 **Authors' Notes**

 _ **MrsAnimeNerd and I would like to thank patamon642, Shadow Regrowth, a Guest and BellslovesOUAT for reviewing our fic! We'd also like to thank all the fabulous people who followed and/or favourited it! We're, really, really looking forward to hearing more from all of you lovely people, so please review, and let us know if you have any questions.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey everyone! So sorry about the...2 year hiatus? While we don't really have much an excuse as to why we haven't updated in so long (besides lifestyle changes for both of us...me focusing on school and my darling co-author MrsAnimeNerd having a baby), we hope you'll all forgive us and enjoy the new chapter. Hopefully we'll be updating this a bit more often than before...hopefully...**_

 _ **Um...Please read, enjoy and tell us what you think! We love reviews...**_

* * *

 **-3-**

The trio slowly entered the apartment. Shiori's eyes darted around looking for the danger. If she saw even a sign that Ranka was home, she would have to make a run for it. The crazy lunatic would force her to wear god knows what frilly pink monstrosity if she let herself get caught.

Sky could see how on edge her friend was, and was laughing at the other girl's distress. Even Haruhi looked amused by it all.

"It isn't funny!" She whispered angrily.

Haruhi only laughed in response, "Don't worry. I think he went out shopping."

The instant she said this, Shiori relaxed and took off her shoes, replacing them with the house slippers. Sky followed suit and the pair walked in like they owned the place. Haruhi rushed after them into the main room, but the pair had already vanished. Assuming they had gone into one of the rooms, or one was in the washroom, she called out.

"So do you guys want any tea or anything?"

"Already working on it!" One of the girls called out, along with a muffled response from the kitchen. Haruhi blinked and walked into the kitchen to find Sky rummaging through the cupboards with a cookie in her mouth, and Shiori was sitting on the counter with a mug in her hand while she waited for the kettle to boil.

Haruhi paused before she let out a laugh. A few short months and she had managed to forget how comfortable the pair were in her home.

Once tea and snacks had been prepared and the girls had gathered in the sitting room they started discussing the Host Club.

"So...you gave us the brief explanation...but how did you end up in the Host Club again?" Shiori asked, before she began nibbling on a cookie.

Once again, Haruhi found herself telling the pair, explaining that she had lost her contacts and her hair had had to be cut. Because she didn't have enough money for the uniform she wore her father's old clothes and the Host club had mistaken her for a boy when she came in and accidentally knocked over the vase.

"You know, I heard peanut butter's good for getting gum out of your hair." Sky commented.

"Really? I'll have to remember that next time."

"What about the other clubs and stuff...are there any good clubs you know about?"

Haruhi thought for a moment, "Well...There's the Black Magic Club, the Newspaper club, I heard there's a drama club, a choir, there's some sort of dance...or ballet club, the track team, and then there's the martial arts clubs...there are a few others but I can't really remember them all."

"Cool. We'll have to take a look at them some time, right Shiori?"

Before the quiet girl could answer, the door flew open and a excited Ranka came plowing in.

He froze for half a second before saying, "What's this? My other daughters have returned home?"

 _'Nonononononononononono!_ ' Shiori thought in panic.

Skylar grinned before rushing to her feet and running to Ranka. As soon as she was close enough, she wrapped the man up in a bear hug.

Shiori, seeing her chance, popped to her feet as well, but unlike Sky, she made to run past the hugging pair, in hopes of escaping the terrible events she was sure were to follow. Before she could get past him, Skylar released him and Ranka's hand shot out, grasping Shiori by the back of her black, long sleeved shirt. The dark haired girl stopped dead in her tracks, before she let out a soft sigh and spun around to wrap her arms around him in her own hug. She knew better than to keep fighting...Ranka would win one way or another. It was safer to just accept it.

The brunette man pulled Shiori away from him slightly and looked her over for a second before tutting. "Tsk. Shi-chan! Your clothing is so dark and dreary."

She gave him a guilty smile.

He sighed, "Well. It looks like we'll just have to fix that."

From the kitchen, where Sky had disappeared to, they could all hear the blond cackling away. Across the room, even Haruhi looked like she was trying to hold in her laughter, "Pfft. Here we go again."

* * *

Shiori stared blankly at the mirror. She turned her gaze to the three people in the room. She turned her gaze to the mirror. She looked back at the other three.

The raven stood awkwardly, staring at the frilly pink dress she had been forced into. It was long and strapless. The bodice of the dress was a bright pink, while the skirt was a baby pink with so many ruffles it was heard to tell where one started and the other stopped. A large bright pink bow sat on the left breast and little white and red hearts peppered the ruffled skirts.

"Ew."

Sky let out a loud laugh while Shiori continued to stare with dead black eyes at the dress.

"Just. Ew."

Ryoji, now out of his dress and make up, wrapped his arms around the girl and spun her around, gushing at how cute and pretty she looked in pink. Haruhi could barely hold her laughter at the deadpan stare Shiori continued to give them all.

 ** _I hate all of you._**

 ** _Aw, Shi-chan, you don't mean that!_** Sky replied giggling as she was passed a camera by Haruhi who wore a deceptively innocent smile.

Black eyes widened and the girl began to struggle, kicking and pushing in an attempt to get free and out of sight. Ryoji suddenly stopped spinning her around and instead pushed her out in front of him so she was facing Sky. She went limp as a light flashed through the room. The picture was taken.

Sky grinned at Shiori, "Don't worry Shi-chan, you look adorable."

 ** _Why'd you take a photo?_**

 ** _No reason~!_**

Shiori narrowed her eyes and pouted slightly.

* * *

Ryoji sat nearby, eating some of the snacks the girls had set out, while his three 'daughters' sat in a circle with their books spread out, working on homework.

Haruhi frowned, staring at a particular question that she just couldn't remember the answer to. She glanced over at Sky, who was staring at her own work with an intense look.

Shiori had answered most of the questions on her sheet, but was now doodling in the margins, having lost interest. She would get back to it in a moment, but she wanted to make sure the skull she was drawing looked realistic enough.

"Hey Sky...how do you find the limiting reagent in a chemical formula again?"

The blond frowned, before smiling sheepishly, "Sorry...I wasn't really paying attention in class..."

"Why not?"

Shiori stopped drawing and glanced up with a sly, knowing smirk, "She was probably drooling over Hikaru and Kaoru."

Haruhi felt her lip twitch upwards while Sky pouted, trying to deny it.

Ryoji paused, a cookie halfway to his mouth as he stared at the trio. He put the cookie down and rushed over, wrapping his arms around Sky, "What's this I hear? Is my little Sky in love with not one, but two boys!?"

"Oh yes." Shiori said, nodding eagerly, "Her heart was stolen earlier today by two of Haruhi's friends...the Hitachiin twins!"

Ryoji looked down at Sky and grinned proudly before shouting, "Fear not my daughter, because I fully approve! Go out and win their hearts!"

Shiori snickered at her blond friend, but the smirk melted when Ryoji turned his attention towards her, "And what about you? Has my little Shiori-chan found her love yet?"

Before she could reply, Skylar cut in, "Oh yes! Shi-chan has fallen madly in love with none other than the princely Tamaki!"

Ryoji, needless to say, looked completely horrified at the very thought. Shiori looked disgusted, and appeared to be gagging slightly.

He wrapped his arms around her, clinging to the girl as he sobbed, "No! Please tell me isn't true! Tell me you haven't fallen for that...that...insect!"

"Oh god no! There's no way I would ever fall for... _that_!" The girl replied, shuddering at the thought, "I...I-"

Ryoij was too distraught to hear the quiet girl, and instead hugged her tighter as he wept, "I...I must put a stop to this! Don't worry Shiori! We _will_ find a cure!"

With that he pulled the girl to her feet and whisked her off into another room, while Haruhi and Sky remained on the floor, with their homework scattered everywhere, laughing.

* * *

The pair stood on the sidewalk, looking up at their homes. The buildings were massive, with decorative brickwork and fancy gardens that sprawled behind their houses.

Shiori smiled cheerfully, "I'll seeya tomorrow, bright and early!"

Sky nodded and smiled, before the two went their separate ways, down the driveways. It was time to tell their families all about their first day at Ouran.

* * *

Before Shiori stood a pair of massive wooden doors. Their house number was pointlessly nailed to it in shiny gold lettering and an even more pointless door knocker hung, just as shiny, below the numbers. The raven shook her head before opening the front door and wandering in.

Kicking off her shoes and placing them off to the side, she took in the fact that her younger brother's shoes were already in place, her mother's heels were nowhere in sight, and her father's shoes were there, but his rubber boots were not, telling her he was probably in the garden. Despite having a gardener, her father was still a bit protective of his rosebushes.

"Tadashi!" Shiori called, knowing her brother would want to know if she was home, and she'd rather face him now then have to deal with it when she was getting ready for sleep or writing in her room.

There was a loud thud from the second floor, followed by a door slamming and her twelve year old brother came practically flying down the stairs with all the grace of a herd of drunken elephants.

"SHIIIIIIIOOOOOORIIII~!" He cried, his voice cracking halfway through. The girl only rolled her eyes and held her arms out, letting the kid slam into her in what was probably one of the most violent hugs in history.

"Hello Tadashi."

"You're home!" He said, grinning as he pulled away and yanked her into one of the sitting rooms, "What was it like at rich school?!"

The sitting room was ornately decorated with fine furniture made with hand carved-wood and expensive fabrics. The coffee table three times as old as her grandmother and the stain glass lamp on another small table by the window worth more than all the other pieces of furniture in the room put together. Expensive paintings and strange glass bobbles lined the walls and shelves, along with books none of their family would ever read.

"Terrifying." She told him with a completely straight face, "Haruhi was there though."

Shiori got the result she wanted. Her little brother's black eyes widened and a blush began to spread across his cheeks, "She...she is?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow...small world!" He said as he stepped away from her and crossed his arms, attempting to look uninterested. Whatever effect his pose may have had, it was shattered by his next question, "She...she didn't ask anything about me...did she?"

 _'Oh god he's so cute.'_ Shiori thought to herself. The longer she refrained from answering, the more agitated and hopeful Tadashi became.

"W-Well? Did she? Huh? Huh?"

"Hmmmm...lemme think..." Shiori said, creasing her eyebrows and placing a finger to her chin as she pretended to remember the day, "Um..."

"Please, please tell me already!"

"No." Shiori's expression went completely deadpan and the short brunette boy in front of her seemed to visibly deflate. Shiori could feel the corners of her mouth tilt upward at his dramatic reaction. It was funny how life worked. Tadashi prepared her to deal with Haruhi's father, and in turn, Ranka prepared her to deal with Tamaki, who she believed would be becoming a large part of her life, if only because he was a part of Haruhi's life.

Tadashi trailed after his sister as she made her way to the kitchen. Shiori hummed as she took food out of the fridge, making herself an after school snack. She glanced at him for a moment before taking more food out of the fridge. She would be a terrible older sister if she didn't feed her little brother.

"So, did you make any new friends?"

"It's only the first day. Of course not...although I believe Skylar and I will be spending a lot of time with Haruhi's friends."

"S-She has friends? What are they like?"

"Well...One's a handsome idiot, like you-"

"Of course I'm handsome- Hey!"

"-There are a pair of twins...I'm not quite sure what to think, but Haruhi seems to think they're nice guys-"

"I bet Sky was drooling."

"-One looks younger than you, and acts like it too. Another one is his cousin, and he's ridiculously tall. And the last one...he's got a heart made of ice."

Tadashi nodded excitedly, before he frowned, "Wait. Are...all of Haruhi's friends...boys?"

Shiori tried to fight back a knowing smirk, "Yep."

The brunette boy looked even more alarmed, "Um...on a scale of one to ten, what would you rate their attractiveness?"

"As a group?" Shiori paused to think about it. Were they attractive? Most definitely yes. If one was...say...passing glance, and ten was 'romance novel hero'... "I'd give them a thirteen."

Tadashi placed a hand over his heart and dramatically fell from his chair.

She stared down at him with a blank look before shaking her head and taking her snack out of the kitchen. Behind her, Tadashi scrambled to his feet and grabbed his own snack. He followed her as she walked up the stairs to the second floor, where Shiori gently kicked open her bedroom door. The siblings settled down on Shiori's bed where they continued talking and eating their snacks.

"So, where's mom?"

"No clue." He said with a shrug, "I think she said something about the new set, but she could have been talking about the earrings one of her coworkers gave her...or the shoes she has to wear..."

Shiori nodded, but there was a worried crease in her eyebrows. She shook her head and continued, "I take it dad's talking to his flowers again?"

"Probably." Tadashi shrugged.

They continued eating in silence, before Tadashi spoke again.

"So...You're positive she didn't say anything about me at all?"

* * *

Shiori was dressed in more comfortable clothing as we headed back into the main sitting room with a notebook tucked under her arm. She paused for a moment, spotting her father in his favorite chair.

"Dad." She greeted quietly.

Shin Hirano was a plain man, but he had a pleasant smile. He had brown hair, warm brown eyes and the beginnings of crowsfeet had begun to appear in the corners of his eyes.

"Ah, Shiori! Did you enjoy your first day at Ouran?"

Shiori smiled faintly, "It was alright...but I do find all the people there rather..."

"Intimidating?"

"Hell yes."

Shin only laughed and ruffled her hair, "Language."

"Sorry." Shiori said, but it was in a manner that told him she didn't mean it in the slightest.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure you and Skylar will-"

"I'M HOME!" A woman's voice loudly called out, accompanied by the opening of the front door. The pair in the sitting room shared an amused look. There was the loud clicking of heels for a moment, before the shoes were taken off and replaced with more comfortable slippers.

A woman walked into the sitting room. She was stunning both on camera and in person, with long black hair that shone in the light like polished obsidian and fell in gentle waves to her lower back. Her eyes were equally as dark as Shiori's, but they held a certain allure and warmth, unlike the still, inky depths of horror that seemed to be framed in her daughter's. She was young, or at least appeared young, enough to be Shiori's elder sister, rather than her mother, and unlike her son and husband, she was taller than the average woman, not by much, but it was noticeable enough, and usually highlighted by her heeled shoes.

"Welcome home, Mother." Shiori greeted with a friendly and relaxed smile, despite how formal her greeting sounded.

"Takara my lov-" Shin was cut off by a loud crash from upstairs.

Followed by a door slamming and the thud-thud-thud of Tadashi once again charging down the stairs, "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Shiori and Shin shared another look before shaking their heads in mock shame as Tadashi and Takara hugged each other so hard Shiori was sure she could hear bones cracking. Breaking away from Tadashi, Takara held her arms out for her daughter. At a much more sedate pace than her brother, Shiori walked up and wrapper her mother in a hug, "Welcome home!"

"How was school?"

"Horrible. Ish."

Takara frowned, "Now now, it wasn't that bad."

"I know...that's why I said 'Horrible. Ish.' I had Sky with me...and Haruhi's going there too, so we get to hang out with her all day too!"

Shiori smiled at her mother as she pulled away, so her father could hug his wife. It was always cute watching them hug, since her mother was the taller of the two. The hug was short, as Takara quickly pulled away, "Oh, you wouldn't believe what happened today!"

Tadashi, Shiori and a pouting Shin quickly settled on the couch while the actress began telling them about the troubles at work. They had completely changed one of the scenes, her costume ripped, a heel broke, someone lost the lamp for one of the sets and her co-star was being a 'terrible example for the audiences if they ever found out about the things he says to people'.

Shiori supposed her mother had had a pretty good day, from the sounds of it.

* * *

The raven haired teen sat in her room, writing in a notebook. Her hand raced across the page, quickly writing down idea after idea. When the ideas were down, she moved on to a separate notebook and began writing the beginnings of a new book. It was rough, and just based on a tiny idea. There was little to no plot yet, or fully formed characters, but Shiori loved to just drop herself right into a project with no planning.

* * *

 _We lived in a world where people could trade in their face whenever they wanted and become someone else. For the right amount of money, you could become anyone. Even if you didn't have a lot of money, you could still afford to change your face at least once a year._

 _The idea of not being able to change, or worse still, not wanting to change, was one no one spoke of. It wasn't something people would accept._

 _I never understood the motive behind changing your face. I was who I was, and putting on a face -a mask- was never going to change who I was underneath. The face I was born with was nothing special. It wasn't a piece of art like the faces other girls my age traded theirs in for, but it was mine. I was one to believe that if my personality was constant, than the outward appearance I showed should be constant as well._

 _People who knew me often stared at it, wondering why I never changed it, wondering what was wrong with me, wondering why I refused to change myself. It never bothered me though. I was comfortable in my own skin. My own face. It wasn't genetically modified, or made of synthetic materials. I didn't see anything wrong with it._

* * *

Shiori looked at the written words for a moment before frowning and attacking it with her pen, scratching most of it out. With a frown, she opened yet another notebook and began working on a different story.

* * *

 _-today on, you will be serving the royal family. Is this understood?"_

 _"Yes sir."_

 _"Good. I'll see you in a little while, alright?"_

 _"Yes sir."_

 _It wasn't alright though, not really. A servant? Her? She couldn't clean to save a life. She couldn't serve. Maybe her pride was the problem, making it so hard for her to clean up after other people, or something similar. It was a shame she had no choice in the matter. With the contract signed over to the royal family, she would have to continue serving it for the next three years before she could even ponder being free to do as she pleased. The troubles of being a part of a poor peasant family._

 _When morning came, Amelia was sent to the castle with nothing more than the clothes on her back. It was all she had with her. The rest was at home with her parents and siblings. She didn't need much anyways. Just enough to buy food. The rest of her pay would go to them._

* * *

Nodding to herself, Shiori closed the notebook and began preparing for bed.

* * *

Skylar looked up at her home. It was a white, Victorian style house with grey trim and shutters. The front garden wasn't quite as...overdone as Shiori's, likely because their garden didn't have Shiori's father constantly working on it, but it was still beautiful. She walked up the front steps and let out a quiet sigh before opening the door.

The instant the door was opened, the sound of heavy footfalls. An instant later, the loud thudding was accompanied by loud barking as Skylar's rottweiler, Captain, came running. She laughed as the dog jumped up, trying to lick her face. She rubbed him behind the ears and patted his head before pushing him down.

"Alright boy, down."

Captain obeyed and trotted alongside Sky as she took off her shoes and set down her bag. She stretched her arms and back as she made her way to the kitchen, planning to get something to eat while she hung out upstairs until dinner. She wouldn't have minded spending some time with her father, but the chances were that his girlfriend would be with him, and she and Sky...didn't see eye to eye.

Entering the kitchen with Captain at her heels, she instantly regretted it upon seeing her father, Jun and his girlfriend, Manami Kinoshita sitting at the island counter. Manami was speaking in an obnoxiously loud voice into the phone while Jun was flipping through a catalogue, but staring at Manami with a reluctant expression.

Manami was an attractive woman with pin-straight black hair and eyes just as dark as Shiori's, but Skylar thought they were even colder than the dead stare Shiori usually wore.

Jun had friendly, warm brown eyes and his hair was slicked back, as he'd likely gone to work earlier that day, and he liked to keep his appearance on point. He turned his friendly gaze to Skylar as she walked in and gave her a warm smile.

"Yes, my husband and I were interested in one of your couches, um...number 73?" She said.

Skylar frowned. _'Husband?! That's a bit much!'_

"Colour? Hmm, what are the options?" Manami asked, nodding as the colours were listed, "Just a sec."

The black haired woman turned her attention to the dark brunette man, "What colour should we get? They have green, red, brown, white, black, or blue?"

"I think black would be good, since it'll match my chair."

The woman frowned, "We'll get the blue. It'll match a painting I've ordered online."

Skylar, who had been at the fridge pulling out something to snack on, froze and glared at an innocent bowl of strawberries. Behind her, Jun frowned at his girlfriend. He didn't like that his opinion was being ignored, but it wasn't that big of a deal. He wanted her to feel at home in his house. He already knew that his girlfriend and his daughter didn't get along just yet, but he hoped that they'd get used to one another in the future.

"That's great, we'll have someone waiting for the delivery tomorrow!" Manami said in a cheerful tone before snapping the phone shut and turning to give a displeased look in Skylar's direction.

"Oh. You're home already?"

"Well...yeah. School's been over for a few hours now." Skylar said, trying to use a pleasant tone when she really just wanted to sneer back. Her eyes flickered to the time to see that school had been over for a good four hours.

"Oh, and where have you been since then?" Manami questioned, and there was something in her tone that Sky really didn't like. It was almost like Manami was trying to imply something.

And pretend she was Sky's mother at the same time.

"I was doing homework with some friends."

"You mean that creepy little actress girl?" Manami asked, but it was clear she didn't care.

Helpless, Jun could only look back and forth between the two women in his life, not knowing who to side with. Skylar had been friends with Shiori for years and Jun was good friends with Shin, so he knew Skylar was fine with Shiori, and she had called earlier to inform her father that she was visiting their friend Haruhi, who Jun knew was a very responsible young lady.

Sky glared at Manami, biting back her instant reaction to someone mocking Shiori. Instead, she let the fridge door swing shut and smirked, "Don't you have a _family_ room to be destroying?"

Her father winced and Manami looked ready to start an arguement, but Sky brushed her off and left the room, Captain eagerly following her up to her bedroom.

She pet the dog as she moved about, putting away her things and settling down for a night tucked away in her room. If Manami was going to be hanging around, then she might as well stay in her room where she wouldn't have to deal with her.

Since her homework was mostly finished, she instead decided to focus on what had been on her mind all day. The Hitachiin twins.

While it was true she was attracted to them, and that they were twins certainly sweetened the deal, there was another thing about them that she just couldn't get over.

She wanted to photograph them. She needed to photograph them. The moment she saw them, all she could think about was how the sunlight coming in from the window had it them perfectly, making fantastic shadows upon their faces, and lit up their hair like it was fire.

All day, every time she looked at them, all she could think about was how much she wanted to capture them. Even during their 'act' she'd wanted to snap a picture or two.

She'd even noticed how Shiori was looking at them, and she knew she wasn't alone. At some point, she'd find a character in one of Shiori's stories who had one of their features, or their personality. Hell, there might even be a pair of twins.

It was a shame that the twins didn't like them. She wasn't sure what it was that the twins found so unlikeable about them- sure, she and Shiori had said some things about Tamaki, but they'd already hated them by that point. Was it just because they were friends with Haruhi first?

Whatever their reason was, it was a shame. If they'd gotten along better, Sky might have even risked asking to take their picture.

Maybe it wasn't too late? She knew that she and Shiori would be seeing an awful lot of the Host Club, because there was no way they were leaving Haruhi now that they knew she was going to school with them. Maybe they'd get along someday?

Closing her eyes, Sky found herself mentally planning out how she'd photograph them, if she could. The lighting, the background, camera angles. She'd rather catch them doing something natural, rather than forcing them to pose, which would look unnatural and stiff.

She sat up and took a few notes, figuring it wouldn't hurt to have the ideas written down, just in case.

* * *

Dressed in her pajamas, Skylar paused as she walked by her window. From where she stood, she could see Shiori's bedroom window, framed by trellises laden with thick vines. Shiori sat by her window, and smirked at Sky from across their yards. They waved to one another before both girls headed to bed.

Sky settled under the covers and pulled out her phone.

 **Hey** , she texted.

The response was instant, **Hi!**

 **I miss yoooouuuuu!**

 **You just saw me like...five seconds ago. Sky could picture the blank stare on Shiori's face.**

 **Stiiiilllll. That was a looooong time ago!**

 **...Fine. Yes, it was an incredibily long time. Oh you poor, darling child, how you have suffered those five seconds since last you saw me.**

Sky pouted at the screen, **Mean.**

 **Lol, good night Sky. See you bright and early...we have to walk to Barbie's Dream Castle in the morning!**

 **Night Shi-chan**

Snickering to herself as she mulled Shiori's new name for their school over in her head, Sky put her phone to sleep and turned off the light.

Tomorrow would be a new day. One Shiori would fear and Sky would anticipate purely for Shiori's reaction. Because tomorrow? Skylar had pictures of Shiori to show off to the twins.

* * *

 _ **Big thanks goes out to BellslovesOUAT and That Anime Girl for reviewing!**_

 ** _A Script in the Making now has 7 reviews, 18 Favorites and 29 Followers! Thank you for all the support!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**-4-**

By the time math class rolled to an end, Shiori was deep asleep, her face nestled into the crook of her elbow. She'd tried to stay awake, but as soon as they started talking numbers, she just...went out.

The bell for lunch chimed cheerfully, and most of their classmates rushed to leave. Within moments, the room was empty save for Sky, Haruhi, the Hitachiin twins and the still slumbering Shiori.

With a grin, Sky spun around in her seat and whispered to her friend, "Haruhi, pass me the camera!"

The brunette wordlessly passed the device, and Sky circled around Shiori's desk to snap a quick picture of the adorably innocent expression on Shiori's face as she slept.

"Is this something you do often?" Hikaru asked, gesturing at the scene.

Sky returned to her desk, sitting on top of it. She wiggled the camera in her hands, "All the time. I love photography. Especially when I can catch embarrassing pictures of Shiori."

She started looking through the photos saved on the camera, showing the twins the picture she'd just taken of Shiori.

Sky snickered, "She looks so cute in this one."

The twins shared a look before glancing at the camera, faces already arranged into an expression of disinterest. They both paused, however, as they stared at the photo. The girl on the camera screen bore no resemblance to the deadpan nightmare they had met yesterday.

In fact, she actually was kinda cute...

Both twins looked away, frowning. They were not going to agree with her. Or mention that the photo was cute. Just...no.

"Haruhi and I took another one of her yesterday after school when Ranka-san came home and helped me dress her up...poor Shi-chan was mortified...here it is! Tada!"

Compelled by an unknown force, both boys looked down at the screen. The image depicted Haruhi's father shoving Shiori towards the photographer. Shiori's eyes were wide with surprise and she was blushing in embarrassment. Her hair was still in the mermaid braid she'd left the school with, and she wore a bright pink dress decorated in ribbons and hearts.

Having only known Shiori for a single day, it was safe to say it was something she'd never willingly wear.

The twins didn't recognize the dress, and figured it was from some cheap company not worth the recognition. It looked horrible.

But somehow...Shiori pulled it off. Like when parents dress up their baby in horrible clashing outfits, but the kid pulls it off because they're cute enough to get away with it.

They were about to comment on how hideous the dress was, when they noticed something else- The picture was really good.

Sky flicked to another picture of Shiori, dressed in her middle school uniform, in a library of some sort. She was standing on one foot, on the tips of her toes, reaching for a book just out of her reach. Sunlight poured into the room from a window, bathing Shiori in warm sunlight. As it hit her hair, it lit up the hidden brown and red highlights among the black tresses. Her face was turned towards the camera, offering a warm smile that filled her dark eyes with light.

Again, it was hard comparing the photo to the real thing.

And again, the picture was...really good. Despite the poor quality of the camera.

Another picture, this time of Shiori in another pink dress with a little tiara on her head and what looked like a sparkly wand in her hand. She was giving the camera a familiar deadpan stare. A boy, who looked a great deal like Shiori, was dressed in a cheap dragon costume and was clinging to her with his arms wrapped around her stomach. Unlike Shiori, he was grinning happily at the camera.

"Who's the kid?" Kaoru asked. He looked a lot like Shiori, and the twins were pretty sure they'd heard someone mention her having a younger brother.

"Oh, that's Tadashi, Shiori's younger brother. He's in middle school right now. Their mom, Takara, likes to sign them up for community plays in our neighbourhood. I saw Shiori in that dress and just had to take a picture!"

"She looks-"

"-like a Princess."

The twins shared a look, remembering just how much Shiori and Sky hated being called princesses. It was hilarious seeing one of them dressed like that.

"Yeah...Takara made her take the lead female role. Shi-chan wasn't pleased. She hates acting, but Takara really wants to have a famous mini-me out there or something...Tadashi is more likely to become the famous kid. He's a lot more like Takara than Shiori is. The only thing she and her mom really have in common is their appearance…" Sky explain as she flipped through more photos before coming to one she was looking for.

"See, they look almost identical!"

The twins stared at the image, showing Takara posing for the camera. She had a mischievous smile on her face, and unlike Shiori who seemed to avoid colour, Takara was wearing a red dress with matching earrings.

It was true though. Takara was like a warmer, adult version of Shiori.

Sky was staring at the photo as well, "Hm...Actually, I'm pretty sure this is the photo she's using for her acting portfolio right now...Or was it the other one in the green top?"

"She uses your photos-"

"For her portfolio?"

"Well...yeah. I guess she likes mine better than some of the photographers she's tried before...and since I live next door, it's not that hard for us to schedule shoots or anything?"

"That's... sort of impressive." Hikaru admitted, not quite sure if he'd meant to say it out loud or not.

A blush flared up on Sky's cheeks, and she quickly changed the picture, focusing her attention on the camera, "It's not that great. Its low quality equipment and I had to edit some things because the lighting wasn't great...I was only messing around when I took those."

Haruhi laughed as she joined Sky in flicking through pictures, "C'mon Sky. You're a fantastic photographer."

"I'm only an amateur, and real photographer would have done a much better job," Sky protested, "and I think I could have done better."

The brunette only shook her head as they kept looking at Sky's old work. The twins loomed behind them, watching photos go by.

Sky suddenly let out a snicker, and was joined by Haruhi. The twins blinked at the photo for a moment, before they realized they were staring at the dramatic photo of Haruhi. Pre-high school Haruhi.

The _feminine_ Haruhi.

She stood under a cherry blossom tree, dressed in her middle school uniform. Her hair was gently blowing in the breeze, and her warm brown eyes narrowed lightly at the camera. She looked beautiful and almost regal in the photo.

Hikaru locked eyes with his brother, silently asking him a question. His twin nodded.

Eventually, Skylar put her camera away, placing it in her bag, which she left on the back of her chair. Since they didn't change classrooms for most of the day (save for elective classes), she didn't have to worry about bringing it to another room after lunch.

Haruhi gently shook Shiori out of her sleep, and she gave a little yawn, before freezing when she realized that the twins were still in the room.

The boys snickered.

"Morning Princess."

"Did you have a pleasant nap?"

Shiori gave them a look cold enough to freeze their blood in response.

Before anyone else decided to make the situation worse, Haruhi grabbed Shiori and Skylar by the hands, dragging her friends from the classroom.

"C'mon you guys. We'll miss lunch if we don't hurry."

 ** _Ah. Yes. I'd forgotten how much you value food._** Shiori sighed, but happily walked alongside Haruhi.

Sky snickered, **_Well, Shi-chan, it is important to survival._**

 ** _True. And lest we forget, food_** **is** ** _ranked ahead of boys…_** At this Shiori's eyes slid to glance back at the twins.

The boys both walked a step behind them, frowning at how Haruhi was dragging Sky and Shiori. They liked it better when she walked between them, so they could wrap their arms around her as they walked.

A smirk curled Shiori's lip. It served them right. If they weren't so hostile all the time, Shiori would have been more willing to feel bad for them...probably.

* * *

The cafeteria was packed as usual. The aroma of gourmet foods filled the air as students lined up, spending what seemed to Haruhi like a small fortune on their lunches.

Ignoring the line ups, the three girls settled down at the same table as Tamaki and the rest of the Club. Despite being able to afford the expensive foods sold in the cafeteria, both Sky and Shiori had both brought their own lunches. Old habits die hard, after all.

"Sky-chan! Haru-chan! Shiori-chan!" Honey greeted the trio.

"Haruhi! Why are you still with these ruffians?" Tamaki whined, but Shiori got the distinct feeling that Tamaki wasn't trying to be vicious like the twins would have. He meant it in an...almost joking manner.

For that reason...there would be no retribution on her part for that comment.

"Tama-chan! Don't call Shi-chan and Sky-chan ruffians...me, Usa-chan and Takashi think they're really nice!" The older boy scolded the second year student.

Beside the small blond, his towering cousin nodded once, firmly showing his agreement.

"Aw, thanks Honey-sempai, Handsome!" Skylar cooed.

As the twins arrived at the table with their lunches, conversation began to build as the group ate their lunch.

The Hosts witnessed a strange ritual Shiori and Sky seemed to have, where they reached into one another's lunches to take the things they wanted. After a small moment of hesitation, Haruhi reached out and stole something out of Shiori's lunch, and the raven retaliated by using her chopsticks to steal something from the bento box Haruhi had made for herself.

Tamaki began blathering about how 'the vile she-demon was stealing the food that precious Haruhi slaved to make for hours', and everyone was suitably distracted as they watched him run around the room, dramatically twirling and posing to get his point across.

During this display, the trio of girls continued to eat, content to have a quiet discussion.

"So, Haruhi...Yesterday you mentioned something about a black magic club?" Shiori asked quietly, her dark eyes watching Tamaki with a dead expression.

"Hm? Oh yeah...Well, if you want to join them or talk to their president, you can come to the Host club meeting after school today, since their club room is attached to ours, or…" The brunette paused and looked around her room, "Actually, I think he and the rest of the club are just over there."

Haruhi gestured to a corner of the room, where a thick black mist that seemed to be ominously spreading out. The mist centered around a small group of people dressed in black hoods, and the rest of the student body seemed to be avoiding them like the plague.

"Ah. Thanks Haruhi!" Shiori said, grinning cheerfully as she stood up, "I'll be back in a little bit!"

There was a light little bounce to her step as she walked past Tamaki, who froze mid-spin at the sight. The Hosts all watched with confused expressions as the quietest of Haruhi's 'old friends' made her way over to the other side of the cafeteria.

Tamaki's eyes narrowed as she stopped in front of the Black Magic club. It was even worse than he had feared. Clearly, 'Skylar' and 'Shiori' had been summoned by Nekozawa to curse the club, and now Shiori was reporting back to him!

Together with the twins, the King of the Host Club stealthily made his way closer, to listen in.

"Hello. My name is Shiori Hirano...I was wondering if I could speak to your leader?"

Tamaki's jaw dropped when Shiori began speaking in a confident tone, even going as far as to smile politely as she spoke. She smiled!

One cloaked figure stood from the table and approached Shiori, reaching out with a pale hand. Shiori held her own hand out, and (to Tamaki's growing horror) the cloaked figure appeared to kiss her hand.

Tamaki's mind began teeming with possibilities...what if Nekozawa hadn't summoned her...but he actually worked for her!? What if she was some demon queen who set out to make Tamaki's life miserable, first by making Nekozawa curse him...and then by corrupting his one and only daughter?!

"I am the club president, Umehito Nekozawa. A pleasure to meet you," Nekozawa released her hand, internally trying to figure out why she was here.

While there was a possibility she was interested in their club, there was also a chance she was here to poke fun, or play a prank as other students were wont to do. Of course, he had noticed her hanging out with the Host Club...while it was known that their leader wasn't exactly comfortable with the occult, and Umehito was occasionally known to give him a little scare from time to time...it didn't seem likely that her friends were making her play a prank.

He'd known the Hosts were watching, and he hadn't been able to help himself. The look on Suoh's face when he'd kissed Hirano's hand-

Wait...Hirano? As in...Takara Hirano? The actress? Hadn't she played that demon queen in that movie that came out last fall? It had been an impressive performance.

Shiori nodded, tearing Nekozawa from his thoughts, "Thank you. Now, Umehito-sempai...I was wondering if I would be able to join your club?"

Nekozawa blinked. Umehito-sempai? Most people refused to get that personal, and simply referred to him by his last name. It was...strange hearing someone at school use his first name. And she wanted to join his club? She didn't seem annoyed that he'd kissed her hand, or creeped out by his appearance.

"You...want to join the Black Magic Club?"

"Yes...I'm allowed to, aren't I?" Shiori asked, suddenly looking a little worried.

Nekozawa couldn't have that! This was a golden opportunity! Someone actually wanted to join the club...Time to sell this.

"Of course you're allowed to join the club! In fact, new members not only get to participate in dark rituals after school, but they also get to take home their very own cloak and Beelzenef doll!" The Black Magic Club President said, motioning with his own hand puppet.

Shiori's eyes trained on the puppet. Free cat puppet? Awesome cloak? On top of getting to hang out in a dark room, avoid the host club, practice magic and get more information for her books?

"Sign me up!"

* * *

As Shiori happily chatted with Nekozawa, pulling a black cloak over the already dark outfit she'd come to school in, Tamaki and the twins were deep in conversation. These were terribly tidings.

"Um...Sempai? Why are you guys talking about exorcising Shiori?"

The three boys rushed over to Haruhi, wrapping their arms around her while attempting to comfort her as Tamaki explain.

"Haruhi, I'm afraid that your friend isn't human! We have evidence that suggests Shiori Hirano is, in fact, a demon from Hell-"

"Really sempai? What kind of evidence?"

Surprisingly it was Kyoya who piped up, but then again, he was known to spur Tamaki's wild plans on.

"Takara Hirano, Shiori's mother, gave an award winning performance in the movie 'Shadow Queen' which was released last fall. In this film, Takara played the role of a demon queen, who rose from hell to enslave all humanity... She won several awards for her acting, and many critics claimed that they genuinely believed she was a demon queen in some parts of the film…"

"Exactly!" Tamaki exclaimed, "See? Her mother was so good at playing a demon because she _is_ one...and by extension, so is her daughter!"

Skylar and Haruhi rolled their eyes, not even bothering to argue with them. Last night, Haruhi had told Sky and Shiori all about the shenanigans the boys got into, and how once Tamaki got started, there was no real stopping him.

The girls started up their conversation again.

"So, looks like Shiori's got her club figured out. I still don't know what I should join," Sky said, frowning.

"You could join the ballet club. You used to be really good at-"

The instant she said it, Haruhi realized her mistake.

Skylar's blue eyes narrowed, and she angrily snapped, "Haruhi! You know that isn't an option! It won't ever happen again!"

The table stopped talking as they all looked towards Sky. The blond girl sighed before standing up.

"I'm heading back to the classroom...I need a second."

As she left the room, she walked past a hooded Shiori, who had been about to sit back at their table. Moving as one, the Host's turned to Haruhi and Shiori for an answer.

The raven sat down where Sky had sat not a minute ago. Like Sky, she let out a heavy sigh, letting her hood fall back to show her frowning face.

"What…"

"Just happened?" The twins asked, being the first to recover from the sudden shift in atmosphere.

Shiori gave them a distrustful look, but spoke anyways, making them all focus on her. She hated speaking to people she didn't fully trust, but she needed to get this across.

"I...imagine S-Sky won't be very...happy with me for telling you this. But...I-if I don't tell...you guys would just snoop more into her personal life...Although I'm sure...Ootori-san already knows." She focused her attention on the sleeves of her cloak, "When Sky was younger she used to take ballet."

"She was really good too. She danced in a school talent show once," Haruhi chimed in.

"Her m-mother really loved it when she got to watch Sky dance. When Sky's parents got divorced, her mother went back to America...b-but Sky...Without her mother there, it wasn't the same anymore. Sky doesn't d-dance anymore...and she doesn't like talking about it e-either," Shiori continued, her eyes moving from one Host to another, "Which is why none of you will mention ballet, yes?"

The Hosts nodded, but Shiori narrowed her eyes at the twins, knowing they weren't nearly as polite as the others. Tamaki was a nice guy and wouldn't want to hurt Sky, neither would Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai...Kyoya likely wouldn't have a reason to bring it up…

The twins?

Shiori was well aware that they didn't like her and Sky.

* * *

Lunch finished and the Hosts returned to their classes. Mercifully, the rest of the day passed by in a...timely manner, and before they knew it, the last bell had rung.

Haruhi was instantly dragged off by the twins while Shiori and Sky lingered in the classroom.

"Are you sure you put it in your bag?"

"Yeah!" Sky's voice was tinted with panic as she dumped her bag out on her desk.

"Maybe if fell out?"

"How could it have fallen out, Shiori? I zipped the bag up!"

"It has to be somewhere...maybe you accidently put it in my bag?" Shiori suggested, riffling through her own backpack.

"I can't believe I lost my camera!" Sky moaned.

The pair continue to look through the classroom, searching for Skylar's life- because yes, the camera was her life.

* * *

"Look Boss, there's a really pretty photo of Haruhi on this camera!" Hikaru said, sliding up to Tamaki as the other's prepared for today's Hosting hours.

Tamaki snatched the camera from the twin and stared at the camera screen, "Where did you two find this?"

"It's Skylar's camera. There's a bunch of photos of Shiori and Shiori's mother too."

Haruhi, having been walking by with a tea tray froze. Sky's camera? Why did they have that? Sky never let anyone take her camera unless she was with them-

The cellphone Haruhi had been forced to take when she joined the club vibrated in her pocket. Setting the tray down, she answered the incoming call.

"Hello?"

 **"** **Hey Haruhi...Sky's freaking out right now. We can't find her camera anywhere."** Shiori's voice said, instantly explaining why she was calling, **"I don't want to sound like I'm accusing anyone...but earlier she showed her camera to the twins and…"**

Haruhi could practically feel Shiori's anger. It was hard to detect in her tone, but Haruhi knew how protective her friend could be. It would be best if she solved this on her own. Shiori didn't need to get arrested again, or anything like that.

"Yeah...they have it here," Haruhi said, already walking up to the trio of trouble makers, "I'll deal with it over here...You tell Sky her camera's safe and sound, and I'll bring it back soon."

 **"** **Okidoki!"** Shiori said cheerfully before ending the call.

Putting the phone away, Haruhi stared blankly at Tamaki and the twins. After a long moment, the three boys seemed to realize they were being stared at.

"I need that camera." She held her hand out.

Tamaki pouted, "but Haruhi, there's a pretty picture of you on it! Daddy never gets to see cute photos of you-"

"Sempai! I need to bring that camera back to Sky." Haruhi said, her tone leaving no room for joking around, "Sky didn't give them permission to take her camera to the club. Shiori just phoned and told me they're tearing apart the classroom looking for it."

"Aw, c'mon Haruhi-"

"-she won't mind…"

"We're just borrowing it for a little while," the twins offered her matching, innocent smiles.

"You're **_not_** borrowing it! You've stolen it!" The angry brunette stomped forward, snatching the camera from Tamaki without looking away from the doppelgangers, "I know you and the girls don't get along yet, but this is taking it too far! That camera is very precious to the three of us, especially to Sky. Her mother bought that for her before she left."

She began walking towards the door, but paused before she left, "We'll talk about what you'll do to apologize to Skylar later."

And with that, Haruhi headed back to the classroom, leaving the Hosts sputtering in confusion, and two boys feeling a mixture of guilt and annoyance.

Haruhi had never gotten that mad at them before.

* * *

"Sky!" Haruhi called from the doorway of the classroom. Her face was slightly red and she looked a little out of breath. In her hand, she held out Sky's camera.

The blond girl let out a relieved "Oh my god thank you!" as she ran to hug her friend and take the treasured item from her hands.

Shiori sat on a desk, "So was I right?"

"Yeah...I'm so sorry...I don't know why they're acting like this-"

The raven giggled, "Haruhi, it's obvious why they're acting like this."

Skylar nodded, "It's true. They're jealous we're a part your life they didn't know about, and upset that they have to share you with us."

"Just like we're jealous that we have to share you with them." Shiori smiled, "But unlike them, we're just better at sharing...probably because we didn't grow up spoiled like them."

"They'll get used to us eventually."

"It'll just take time...and in that time, if they don't knock off the teasing and stealing, there may be some...divine retribution." The raven shrugged, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh god...not the pranking," Haruhi groaned.

"Sorry Haru-chan!"

"Anyways!" Sky said, clapping her hands together after slipping the camera in her bag, "We need to get together again and bond."

"I vote sleepover!" Shiori declared, hopping to her feet.

"I second vote and nominate Haruhi's house!"

Haruhi sputtered, "Ah- what? Guys, why does it have to be my house?"

"You're dad doesn't have a pushy girlfriend trying to ruin your life."

"And you don't have a little brother who is crushing real hard on one of your friends?"

"But- Wait- who does Tadashi have a crush on-"

"Bye Haruhi!" The girls chimed as they headed for the door. Haruhi followed after them.

She knew she couldn't follow them home, since she had to get back to the club, but that did not mean this discussion was over!

The trio ground to a halt, finding most of the Host Club standing outside the classroom, staring at the three of them. There was a strangely excited look on Tamaki's face, Honey looked curious and cheerful, Mori and Kyoya had blank expressions, and the twins?

They looked down right angry.

Must have heard them talking about the boys being jealous. Oops.

However, as Sky and Shiori waved good bye to the Hosts, they were much too busy planning their sleepover at Haruhi's to care what the twins thought.

After all, Shiori had to fear over, and Sky got to anticipate Shiori's reaction to, the likelihood of the Hosts crashing their sleepover.

* * *

 ** _And there we have chapter 4 of our story!_ _It looks like the girls and the twins are well on their way to declaring war, we're learning more about Skylar and *sarcastically* yes, Shiori is clearly a demon spawn. it's the only explanation as to why she could possibly not find Tamaki attractive.  
_**

 **MrsAnimeNerd** _ **and I would like to thank everyone for their support! Big thanks to the following people for reviewing: summerlily232, Scoobydoolover21 (Guest), and animefreak112097!**_

 **A Script in the Making** _ **now has 11 Reviews, 22 Favourites and 33 Followers! Please keep showing your support! We love it~!  
**_


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